Insights
Flexibility, adaptability, and the power of good teams
This originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel's LinkedIn newsletter. Subscribe to that, if you'd like! I had the pleasure of working with a client this week in Nashville with some of my tremendous colleagues -- Ron Paul, Ph.D., Joe Kozub, and John Henry Scott III:...
How to best define work “culture”
This post originally appeared as part of Jessica Kriegel's LinkedIn newsletter. Feel free to subscribe to that, if you'd like! Every week, one or more of my colleagues at CULTURE PARTNERS is at a company somewhere, engaging with senior leaders on how to...
The COVID Shift: “Double down on flexibility and adaptability”
This article originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel's LinkedIn. Most Americans began truly reckoning with COVID around mid-March 2020; some are still grappling with COVID and all its various effects. There have been a many theories tossed around about COVID's ultimate...
What if change management processes DON’T need to be hard?
This post originally appeared on LinkedIn as a Jessica Kriegel newsletter edition. To subscribe to her newsletter, go here. Working on finishing up significant research on #culture based on work we did with 240+ organizations. We found that the best type of culture...
From CNN: “Loud Quitting” and the need for adaptability and flexibility
Jessica Kriegel, our Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture, appeared on CNN's Early Start this morning to discuss some recent Gallup studies about general disengagement in the workplace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jol9RI7W9E Near the end of the three-minute clip,...
That time we got an entire room to sing “The Greatest Love Of All”
At a client engagement in May 2023, two of our consultants opened a session by getting members of a Mississippi-based organization to sing Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All" as a tie to their desired end-state culture, purpose, and mission. It's fun to...
How to begin building accountability in a team
This is undoubtedly a complicated topic, and thousands of teams around the world struggle with accountability and autonomy. As HBR has noted, the lack of accountability is rarely intentional, meaning managers and executives do have the best intentions. (We've seen...
Is there a type of layoff that’s more humane?
This post originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel’s LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. I had the privilege of being mentioned in a BBC WorkLife article about humane layoffs a few weeks ago. You might see the words...
Diversity 2.0: Interculturalism, As Opposed To Multiculturalism
This post originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel’s LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. We’ve been trying – sometimes in a performative way – to get diversity right within organizations for literal decades now. We’ve...
In a potential crisis of apathy, what is the proper role of leadership teams?
This post originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel’s LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. I came across this article from TIME recently: "It's Harder Than Ever To Care About Anything." It's similar in some ways to...
Why love and consciousness matter to workplace culture
This post originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel’s LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. I come across significant amounts of content on management styles, culture, psychology and human flourishing. I get to see, and...
You don’t want your employees to burn out. But you also don’t want them bored to tears.
This post originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel’s LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. We've talked a lot about burnout in the last five years, and that's a very important narrative about present work and where work...
In a recession, will “culture” matter to executives?
This post originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel's LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. The cynical answer to the question in the headline is: "No, we need to focus on keeping the lights on." The real answer...
Why should you aspire to be a “Great Place To Work?”
This originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel's LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. To start to answer that question, let me show you a LinkedIn post from Michael C. Bush, who is the CEO of Great Place to Work. Based...
Do your employees work with the proper pace? There’s a way to get them there.
This post originally appeared on Jessica Kriegel's LinkedIn. To subscribe to her every-Friday newsletter, also on LinkedIn, go right here. This topic will be broad brush to a certain extent, but it’s something we constantly hear about from clients at CULTURE...
Reminder: “Culture” is not the same as “Perks”
When this video from the YouTube channel How Money Works first came out, dozens of people sent it to various Culture Partners executives, keynoters, and practitioners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88SGfykwt8g The video makes some good points, and is admittedly...
A brief summary of our work around empowering women at work
Our Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture, Jessica Kriegel, was recently quoted in this HR Dive article about women exiting the workforce. Here's the context for Kriegel's reference in the article: They also found that 97% of women don’t feel they can ask for flexible...
Should CEOs be focusing on big societal issues?
There's typically two sides to this argument. One says that if business leaders don't take specific stands on social topics, there won't be enough gravitas and movement on them. The other side says that CEOs should spend most of their time focusing on business issues...
A more realistic approach to hiring
For much of 2021 and into mid-2022, a core narrative seemed to be “No one wants to work anymore.” This was all tied to Quiet Quitting, The Great Resignation, and – later on – “QuitToking.” There was this idea, whether you thought it was tied to “free money” or a...
The Culture-Savvy CEO
Yes, the trends of quiet quitting, quiet hiring — all the symptoms of active employee disengagement — are on our minds. But there's another phenomenon we are seeing. A bright spot. The Culture-Savvy CEO. The leader who knows well the connection between workplace...
AI, Mass Layoffs, and the Power Struggle for the Future of Work
Jessica Kriegel talks with Joe Kernen on CNBC about workers' wild new use of ChatGPT to hold more than one full-time job, anti-work sentiment, layoffs, and the power struggle between companies and people revealed in the trends.
The Overemployed Employee
On CNN's Early Start, Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture Jessica Kriegel talks with Christine Romans about a new trend in remote work: employees using ChatGPT to hold more than one full-time job (and succeeding).
“QuitTok” and the Disappearing Line Between Culture and Brand
Now more than ever, your culture and brand are merging — and the full range of experiences your people have at work (and in quitting work) are surfacing on social media. A focus on your culture will curb the new wave of clickbait reactivity, says Chief Scientist of...
Storytelling and the L&D Connection
When we think of great storytelling, we think of the stories we remember — the ones that cut through the noise like a bullet to the brain. Stories are the most powerful way we have of reaching each other and, in within our workplace cultures, they play an anchoring...
Remote v. Return to Office Reaches Federal Workers
The Biden Administration urges a general back-to-office direction for federal workers in new memo and Jessica Kriegel, Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture, talks with Christine Romans on CNN’s Early Start about the misstep of using a stick rather than a carrot to...
The Virtual Layoff and Cultures in Flux
The virtual layoff is here. Jessica Kriegel, our Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture, weighs in on this new culture phenomenon in The Washington Post, arguing that McDonald's decision to layoff corporate staff virtually was the more compassionate route: “If I were...
McDonald’s is Teaching a Master Class in Layoffs
Since WFH scaled quickly with COVID, there's been a debate in HR and management circles about whether layoffs should be done in-person or remotely. In-person feels more connected and respected for some, but there's also the ignominy of walking out of your office with...
Build a Results-Driven Sales Culture
Sales cultures are unique in their constant, top-of-mind relationship with targets and goals. And often goal setting, performance pressures, and a concentration on CRM leads sales teams to a too-narrow focus on strategizing. Time for a reset. Time to step back,...
How to Tell a Real Job from a Ghost Job
On CNN's Early Start, Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture Jessica Kriegel walks us through the job seeker’s reality of applying for “ghost jobs” — positions that organizations post that don’t actually exist — and breaks down the reasons why employers are leaving...
The Lasting Impact of a Strong Keynote Speaker
Some organizations think of keynote speeches as one-offs. But the right keynote speaker can create a memorable experience for your people.
The State of Women in the Workplace
On MSNBC, Jessica Kriegel, Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture, discusses the burden on women in the post-pandemic workplace and how women in leadership can advocate for advances in flexibility that will shift them out of a CWO (Chief Worry Officer) role.
The Crucial Difference Between Accountability and Responsibility in Your Culture
Often we are asked about the different between responsibility and accountability when working with workplace cultures. And there's a simple way to answer: a responsible employee completes what they are asked to do. They can be leaned on. They speak up when they are...
Your New Performance Review Template
Ah, the annual performance review. It’s likely that leaders and the employees they manage both dread this experience, regardless of its perceived necessity. But a yearly review isn’t actually what’s necessary, it’s the chance to give and receive feedback. Employees...
The Critical Role of Business Acumen in Your Culture
Michelangelo. Aretha Franklin. Pelé. All three of these individuals are viewed by many as the greatest artist, singer, or athlete (respectively) that ever lived. While they all practiced and worked hard to refine their skills, their level of talent makes it seem as...
Empower Women, Empower Your Organization: The Value of Women in Leadership
The glass ceiling is still there. Here’s a hammer. A culture of exclusion hobbles your engagement and financial growth. Our new research reveals that when organizations foster inclusivity and tap women to lead, Culture Strength and employee fulfillment...
Decoding Cyberloafing and “Bare-Minimum Monday”
Another workplace trend hits social media and Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture Jessica Kriegel asks: when are we going to drop the trend obsession and have the deeper conversations about productivity that we need to have?
Why Firing Will Backfire at Tesla
Antiwork and the move to unionize isn’t going anywhere. On CNN's Early Start, Jessica Kriegel talks through the destructive effects that Elon Musk’s recent reactive firings at Tesla will have on the company — and on any company that follows his lead.
The Negative Culture Impact of Layoffs
On CNBC, Jessica Kriegel gets tough about the error of mass layoffs and how resisting the current layoff wave is a positive act of nonconformity for today’s CEO.
The Evolution of Business Acumen Training
Numbers tell a story and there’s always a story behind the numbers. Over the course of Culture Partners’ existence, we have had a front-row seat to how organizations and their leaders have adapted and evolved to meet the demands of the business world. It's not that...
Your Culture Is on LinkedIn: 4 Ways to Use It Well
Your employees are on LinkedIn. More than 900 million members are registered on the platform with an estimated 310 million active users. LinkedIn defines itself as “business and employment-focused social media platform,” and there are countless think pieces about how...
The 5 Cs: Qualities That Define Great Leadership
Want to be a stronger leader? Build a stronger team on these five principles.
Southwest Airlines: The Culture Crisis That Could Have Been Avoided
"How did we go from the most stable and profitable airline in history to the greatest meltdown in airline history? Three words: lack of leadership," said the Southwest Pilots Association. Where many might see a PR crisis, those three words — "lack of...
Tech Layoffs and the Need for Culture-Centered CEOs
Tech layoffs are in bloom. On Bloomberg, Jessica Kriegel guides us through the moment and how CEOs can diverge from groupthink, clarify results, create cultures of fulfillment, and not feed the anti-work movement. Jessica will be talking in-depth about workplace...
Taking the “Hush” out of Hush Trips
Jessica Kriegel defines "hush trips" on CNN's Early Start and advises CEOs and CHROs: stop fretting about productivity and build "work from the beach" trips as a culture perk to invite creativity, innovation, and psychological safety from your people. Jessica will be...
Radically Rethink Employee Engagement: Create Employee Fulfillment
Year after year, tension around employee engagement within organizations heightens as employee engagement trends down and the number of “actively disengaged” employees ticks up. As employers, you may be experiencing this in both direct and indirect ways. Maybe your...
Helping Leaders Use Critical Thinking Skills in Decision-making
Critical thought should always precede action. Yet, it’s surprising how often business decisions are made without sufficient analysis of the objectives, options, and potential consequences of those decisions. Having enough time for critical thought is a factor,...
Building Your Leadership Pipeline with Business Acumen
Training and leadership development have become crucial for filling employee skill gaps and talent needs in today's labor market. Harvard Business Review states that many large companies have failed to pay adequate attention to their leadership pipelines and...
ODL: Using Culture To Shape A Multinational Expansion
Solid. Soft. Risky. These are three words that ODL, Inc., manufacturer of glass for doors and entries for more than 70 years, discovered they needed, as a company, to anchor the values of their culture: Solid. A strong, inclusive workforce dedicated to quality in...
Disney and the Deluded Dream of the Pre-Pandemic Office
Jessica Kriegel talks with Christine Romans on CNN's Early Start about Disney CEO Robert Iger's clinging to an outdated playbook that falsely cuffs creativity to being in-office, discounting research on how remote work is working for the health, happiness, and...
Back to the Office with Compassion and Purpose
Jessica Kriegel appears on CNN's Early Start to talk about how compassion, seeking a purpose fit, integrating gratitude, and staying present (rather than "future tripping") can invigorate you and your organization as we pivot into 2023.