Connecting Through Culture: Spotlight on the Chief Strategy Officer of Workforce and Labor
(Note: This continues our series of blogs highlighting individual functions in an organization. This blog showcases the insights of Dr. Jessica Kriegel, Chief Strategy Officer of Workforce and Labor at Culture Partners.)
How do you define workplace culture in your organization and what role is it playing in driving organizational results? According to Dr. Jessica Kriegel, chief strategy officer of workforce and labor at Culture Partners, understanding the impact of your current culture on results and what you’d like it to be is the true starting point for effective culture change.
“Connecting culture to results requires leaders to evolve their view of culture as a source of perks that keep employees happy or activities and benefits linked to employee fulfillment,” explains Jessica. “Instead, culture is how people think and act to get results.”
The experiences employees have in the workplace will determine the actions they take and which negative or positive behaviors become deeply ingrained. That’s why it’s so important for people in this role to help uncover what’s causing underperformance against strategic goals.
From Aspiration to Results
“Many leaders begin by hiring consultants who interview employees and hold focus groups to find out what people think is the biggest problem. Then they prioritize the list and tell the organization’s leaders that they need to fill these gaps as part of an overall change-management process,” says Jessica. “But this approach doesn’t get to the root cause of poor performance and results.”
Instead, leaders need to be able to answer key questions:
- What results do you want?
- What culture do you need to get there?
- What shared limiting beliefs are standing in the way?
At that point, leaders can work to shift people’s thinking and acting so that they continually align with the purpose and strategy of their organization—the fundamental framework behind the Culture Equation®.
“A focus on fixing what’s broken may come from a good place, but it leaves organizations in band-aid mode when their real power lies in building a results-driven culture,” adds Jessica.
Aligned, Adaptable Culture Key to Future-Proofing
Years ago, it was common for founders of an organization to create its purpose, executives in the boardroom to create the strategy, and HR to oversee company culture. And where that approach still carries over today, organizations can quickly fall out of alignment given siloed areas of responsibility—and changes associated with any one of them.
“To achieve desired results, alignment of strategy, purpose, and culture needs to be top of mind,” says Jessica. “When leaders can make adjustments in this holistic way, they can respond more effectively to changing business conditions.”
It’s not just the ability to align, but also an adaptability muscle that is incredibly important considering the culture change organizations may face due to AI technologies. “Leaders need to have an adaptability mindset and the right culture tools to help them navigate all the ways AI will transform their business models,” says Jessica. “Through this approach, they also can influence whether AI will be a “leveler” or a “fragmenter” of opportunity among their employees.”
Three Steps to Moving Forward With Culture Confidence
With all these potential changes in the offing, how can leaders be confident that their culture-building efforts will serve them well now and in the future?
- Listen to the stories employees are telling: Do their stories point to beliefs that promote or undermine desired results? When you determine that, you can take steps to change the employee experience and reinforce beliefs that ultimately produce strategic results.
- Create a culture where people communicate more: Based on Culture Partners and Ankara research on frontline workers, there’s a strong link between how cared-for employees felt and how well they thought management communicated with them. Knowing and addressing that can make a major difference when you’re trying to retain top performers.
- Ensure everyone is purpose-fit to the organization: Have employees identify their own personal purpose and ask them if they’re able to live their personal purpose while helping the organization achieve its purpose and strategic goals. If there are disconnects, work with individuals to establish greater alignment—helping them reframe or redefine their personal purpose, as necessary.
“We’re at a critical time when aligning and adapting your culture needs to happen at an accelerated pace,” says Jessica. “When you regularly tune into and communicate with employees, you can create an intentional culture where people are willing to weigh in and act on what’s needed to drive results.”
Contact us to learn how you can drive results by activating your culture.