Who Cares?
In a world of constant change and flux, it is more necessary than ever for employees, including leaders, to feel their work is both purposeful and valued, yet too many of us feel nobody cares at work. If lack of employee engagement is the symptom that leaders are trying to alleviate, then the cure needs to be focused around making the case for care and compassion.
One of the biggest shifts that leaders must manage in the digital age is from ego to eco the Achilles heel of adaptive and conscious leadership. It sounds simple but is very difficult to embody as we know that so much of human behavior is driven by ego, and so much of what happens in organizational culture, too.
Yet this shift from ego to eco is in full swing and becoming more and more pressing in today’s organizational ecosystems, particularly in the operational workspace. We still depict organizational design in linear and binary organization charts. We still believe in the myth that these represent the authority, hierarchy, and power dynamics of an organization except that they don’t.
Organizations as Living Systems
Organizations are complex living systems that house several layers of relationships, assumptions, hidden hierarchies, and power dynamics that are very real but never formalized or acknowledged. They are, however, embodied as ‘the way we do things around here.’ This echoes the deeper layer of implicit assumptions as per Ed Schein’s model of organizational culture: the job titles used, the dress cod, e or other ‘artifacts’ as the first visible signs of the culture. Then espoused values are things an organization says about its culture and ways of working (vision/mission statements, value statements, team charters, etc.) which are deeper indicators and levers of culture than artifacts, but still shallower than underlying beliefs. And, finally, underlying assumptions about how people should work together, what is accepted practice, or what behaviors will lead to workplace success or failure.
It is not about ‘what the system allows you to do’, but about how you intentionally design and redesign the system to allow people and the culture to evolve.
For example, many organizations use job-sharing to give flexibility and equity, yet employees may feel that people in job shares are not considered for a promotion as readily as those who are not. These complex relationships, dynamics, and interdependencies are by their very nature implicit and non-linear, and such a systemic view is key if leaders are to intentionally create a culture where everyone can thrive.
Today, we remain essentially focused on the individual in terms of performance management, reward,r, and recognition. Organizational processes and policies also remain essentially focused on the individual. The existing processes implicit assumptions and codes of organizational culture are recognized patterns in the system and will not be changed as long as they are rewarded and validated by the system. Quite the opposite in fact: they will become more ingrained as long as we do not break the patterns. This is the same for all types of practices and habits that feed the leadership culture of an organization.
Authentic conversations and courage are the key to creating the conditions for collaboration, care, and inclusion to happen.
I have had so many discussions with leaders about inclusive practices and using the diversity we have (or don’t have) to innovate or create a high-performing team. We regularly discuss making sure each voice is heard but we do not talk about how we change the system in which these voices think, act, and interact. It would be far better to adopt the system, which is the bigger, harder, and more sustainable bet. We must look at exactly where biases and assumptions lie, what is implicitly accepted and rewarded, d and what we can do about it. It is a continuous process that requires a consistent effort from leadership, ongoing dialogue, and individual agency. It is not about ‘what the system allows you to do’, but about how you intentionally design and redesign the system to allow people and the culture to evolve.
The Conundrum of Polarities
This is the dialectic conundrum in today’s digital world constantly navigating the extremes of two conflicting paradigms, such as individual vs. collective, control vs. empowerment, or knowing vs. learning. For example, I recently worked with a leader who was willing to experiment and ‘let things emerge’, but in the same breath asked me to prove that it would work before trying. Not only is this a tall order; but it also exemplifies the conundrum of wanting to try but not feeling safe enough to do so. We need to find a way of navigating these polarities to create a space where you have collaboration not competition, where you have accountability and collective responsibility, and where you can have high performance and courageous conversations. After all, you cannot have one without the other you cannot have high performance and thriving teams without courageous conversations and a culture of care.
Can you recall an occasion on which you were trying to get other people on your side, trying to influence and create a space where things could happen? The lever for this is to have conversations that are meaningful, deeper, uncomfortable, courageous, sometimes difficult, and incredibly impactful. The quality of collaboration depends on the quality of the conversations, and authentic conversations are the key to creating the conditions for collaboration,,d inclusion to happen.
A culture of care will create a safe space where individuals can be both their selves yet also contribute and collaborate to the bigger collective vision.
This then begs the question of how we bring about these conditions. Leaders must be able to define and make these choices and move from a passive stance to an active stance so that they can start visualizing and designing what this environment could look like. Some helpful questions to ask might be: What skills do I need? How can I equip my peers and teams to start with the hard inner work and then move out to a more collective design of how we collaborate more efficiently?
It is important to understand the ‘what is’ and the ‘what isn’t’ in this space, to get curious, and to speak to people by engaging in authentic and courageous conversations. We must look at the environment from a lens of empathy and care as well and ask ourselves: What mindsets are present here? What are the unwritten assumptions and biases? Do I ask people what they are feeling and take their answers into account? Do I regularly challenge myself and my perspectives openly with my peers and teams?
We worked together with an SME for 12 months looking to build a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy. However, as we delved into the topic, we created a systemic view by linking innovation, employee engagement, performance, talent retention, and ultimately competitive advantage to the leadership and culture needed to create the conditions for people to thrive and innovate. In other words, we were creating a culture of care. We worked to intentionally create systemic change and design the relevant systems and processes for the behaviors to be rewarded. This was, of course, a journey, not a one-month project.
We started by questioning the status quo and the implicit assumptions through feedback and dialogue on the lived experiences of both leaders and employees. This assessment of the existing culture, processes, asystemssms allowed us to use the building blocks that were already contributing to creating the environment. We defined what a culture of care was for them and conducted mass awareness exercises across the different parts of the organization to determine how this translated into their everyday rituals and operations. This was an iterative process that enabled us to pilot how to create higher-quality conversations and dialogue in the organization. Engagement scores rose by 12% and powerful communities started to take root.
A culture of care will create a safe space where individuals can be both their selves yet also contribute and collaborate to the bigger collective vision with a longer-term perspective. However, leaders will often focus on what is easy to see and fix, rather than investing time and effort in uncovering the deeper systemic issues, i.e., they tend to address the symptoms rather than the root cause. The constant pressure on delivering results, exacerbated by silo culture, adds fuel to the ego mindset: that the focus on ‘this is my budget,’ or ‘that’s the objective for my area,’ or ‘my team has the best results’ often leads to blame, pressure, and shortsighted competitive battles.
These are all important and performing parts of a disjointed whole. We must encourage a wider, more holistic view, with a collective that is made up of thriving individuals who collaborate towards a common goal, instead of individuals striving to be the best and deliver the most, for essentially their gain and recognition.
This is not just a human-centered ideal. More than ever in today’s complex world we do not have all the answers. It is hard to admit that we do not know it all, that maybe we are wrong, and that maybe we are sorry for the way we reacted, but it is essential for learning and progress. Apologizing or admitting failure is not about making the other person right or beating yourself up. Saying sorry means that you value your relationship more than your ego. Admitting failure means choosing to learn over knowing. It means that you value growth more than your ego. And herein lies the key to leading collectively.
So, how do we evolve to enable people to develop and grow, to enable a culture in which people feel nurtured and valued, where people can bring their full potential t o workknandd in which innovation can thrive?
Conscious Inclusion for Collaboration and Care
Weaving the tapestry of care and compassion is a real leadership challenge for all organizations. How do we connect the dots through trust, empathy, and with enough clarity and accountability to land in this space of care and collaboration? This is one of the biggest transformational challenges for organizations today, whether the culture is deliberately designed for this or not.
Inclusive systems are by their very nature based on care. You cannot have a collaborative culture without compassion.
If it is not, the impact is huge because the culture becomes very toxic and can disable rather than enable performance, both individually and collectively. It can also be very demotivating: People fail to see why they should be following a particular course of action, nor do they see the value of what they are doing. Consequently, well-being and motivation decrease people can feel paralyzed by the unwritten yet prevalent codes of the culture. People silently obey these codes and adhere to the politics that are at play within the different systems and management models and often suffer in silence.
This is where inclusive systems help. They foster unity and care rather than uniformity, and they make the landscape more transparent and safer for people. The good news is that there is much more scope in organizations today. We see an increasing awareness of the dynamics of complex networks. We see transformational initiatives that create bottom-up momentum. We see a shift towards more holistic end-to-end processes, and we see a shift towards implementing different ways of working to harness collective wisdom. This creates a whole platform for opportunities to drive change through collaboration and care, not only in the end-to-end business processes, but also in the way we think, show up and, work.
There is a reason why some organizations retain their competitive advantage, and others struggle to retain talent. Inclusion is a strategic bottom-line subject because we cannot innovate and adapt without the building blocks of consciously fostering this principle. It is not about ‘being nice’ or ‘saying yes to everything or ‘not taking decisions’, which are some of the myths I hear daily surrounding inclusion. It is about understanding who you are, holding different perspectives, and scaling empathy Inclusive systems are by their very nature based on care. You cannot have e collaborative culture without compassion there is no one-size-fits-all as we struggle to do ‘what good leaders are supposed to do.’ Maybe you will never be able to take some people with you, but that is also sometimes what care may look like.
Unless we know who we are, what our patterns are, and the impact this will have on our teams, we cannot create a culture of care. Until we take the requisite distance to question our assumptions, listen to others, and integrate different perspectives, we cannot create a culture of care. Until we built d deliberate practice to lead differently, from a place of learning, curiosity, and empathy, we cannot expect our teams to do the same.
We must create awareness of the patterns in the system and connect people to the emotional layer of the human systems of an organization.
Seeing, acknowledging, and understanding system patterns is key to understanding the blueprint of how we learn and evolve. It is the basis for an intentional design of a caring environment. We must create awareness of the patterns in the system and connect people to the emotional layer of the human systems of an organization. This will help us to understand and coach collective teams not only in another way of doing but also in a different way of being. It will help us to coach the organization towards using care as a lever for systemic changes to enable this culture to take root and evolve. We therefore need to be intentional about how we go about creating these patterns of care in the system as part of the ‘way we do things around here’ to enable performance and well-being.
10 Principles that Foster a Culture of Care
We need to build systems of care through collaboration and healthy challenges. Building this culture of care and effective collaboration requires a focus on the following areas:
• Human-centric approaches: Take the time to understand your employees and their needs, and act on the moments that matter continually.
• Leadership commitment: Leaders must visibly and consistently express their commitment to care.
• Trust and accountability: Foster a culture where trust is mutual, and accountability is encouraged leaders and employees should hold themselves accountable to the same standards of care, dignity, and respect.
• Role model inclusive practices: Constantly check in on how included and heard people feel, if the policies and opportunities are equitable, and if people are asked how they are doing/feeling.
• Acknowledge success and contributions: Acknowledgement is a powerful tool for recognition and motivation that unfortunately remains little used as a lever for thriving and nurturing both individual and collective well-being and productivity.
• Interrelationships: Encourage understanding of the relationships and human systems of an organization.
• Ecosystem thinking: Encourage an understanding of the interconnectedness and the interrelationships between various departments, teams, and internal/ external stakeholders.
• Inclusion: Create safe team spaces where voices matter. Do we regularly practice healthy challenges in our team? Can we express ourselves clearly? Are we intentionally developing empathy continuously as a leadership skill?
• Collaboration: Facilitate collaboration across boundaries (teams, departments, sites) and foster leadership where learning to collaborate is a collective responsibility based on caring for others.
• Sustainability: Define an upskilling plan for all the above areas and create regenerative working models that are customized to your context and allow people to thrive.
Encourage an understanding of the interconnectedness and the interrelationships between various departments, teams, and all stakeholders.
Conclusion
Creating a culture of care in a hybrid world requires leadership, communication, and a commitment to collective thinking. By focusing on intentional actions and strategies aimed at transparency, empathy, and collective accountability, organizations can create an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth, and collaboration becomes the driving force behind innovation. With careful attention to the unique challenges of hybrid work such as communication gaps and feelings of isolation, organizations can create a more inclusive, supportive, productive,, d caring work ltandre for everyone. This transition can be especially challenging as we move into a more interconnected workspace. It also offers unique opportunities for transformation.
