HRD spoke to Meghan Stettler, Director of the O.C. Tanner Institute, on thriving during chaos
2020 was something of an anomaly, for which no amount of strategic planning could have wholly shielded an organization.
And yet, it’s clear that certain companies weathered the COVID-19 chaos better than others. Why? Well, it all comes down to culture.
“It’s certainly been a very unprecedented year,” Meghan Stettler, Director of the O.C. Tanner Institute, told HRD. “Particularly for workplace culture. We’ve seen a series of cascading crises across our health, our economy, and our social systems.
Read more: How mentorship contributes to a healthy business culture
“Our research shows that COVID-19 in particular has taken a toll on organizations worldwide - yet unsurprisingly those with thriving cultures have faired the storm better than most. Their people have proven to be more resilient, more adaptive to change. They’ve been able to rise to meet demands and, in many cases, have increased productivity as well as innovation.”
It’s a lesson that employers would do well to heed. A healthy, thriving, workplace culture is not simply a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a strategic necessity in the war against burnout, stress, and turnover.
“Thriving cultures create incredible advantages in the good times as well as the bad,” added Stettler. “If there is a silver lining in any of this, it’s the fact that we can seize opportunity, take action, and accelerate change for a better future. Those organizations that are actively addressing their shortcomings in culture are going to be the winners in 2021.”
Last year, O.C. Tanner introduced a new framework which challenged archaic ideals of leadership. They threw out the old philosophies and ushered in new era of emotionally intelligent, progressive leaders.
“This year, we really wanted to further validate the impact that modern leaders have in organizations,” continued Stettler.
Read more: The power of great mentors, sponsors and sounding boards
“Unfortunately, with all of the craziness that has occurred this year, employees are reporting that many of their leaders are falling back on outdated leadership characteristics. Sometimes, as the world is swirling around us, we seek to control the work by directing it rather than mentoring our people. We’re putting our people on edge by continually evaluating them rather than developing them - gatekeeping against information and resources rather than trusting our teams with transparency and the things that they need to succeed in this moment.”
“Adopting the expectation that every single employee views themselves as a leader is critical. We’re hoping to get them to step up, share in the leadership load and really understand how their particular view directly impacts the overall results and outcomes of the organization.”
To hear more from Stettler on how to improve your culture this year, watch our exclusive interview here.
