Leaders should revisit the works of three corporate culture pioneers

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by Jon Katzenbach and Carolyn Black

A trio of 20th-century thinkers yields insights into how to align culture with strategy and energize employees today.

As consultants, we’ve been working in the world of corporate culture much longer than it has been popular to do so. Over the past ten years, culture has become a regular topic of discussion among leaders, and writing on the topic has exploded. And yet, even with these new and sometimes very insightful voices to draw from, we find ourselves repeating the wisdom of three 20th-century thinkers: Leon Festinger, Frederick Herzberg, and Daniel Goleman.

We assure you, we’re not just stuck on “the oldies.” Rather, we’re pointing you to classics. These authors put forward clear, pragmatic insights that have stood the test of time. Used together, these ideas help form a foundation for successful cultural alignment and evolution. Simply put, these “oldies” are goodies that have worked for decades—and still do.

So, who are these folks, and how is what they said years ago still relevant today?

Leon Festinger

Festinger (1919–89) was an American psychologist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan, who was best known for developing the theory of cognitive dissonance in the 1950s.

What he said: Festinger’s theory proposes that a mismatch between beliefs and behaviors causes psychological tension (i.e., cognitive dissonance). In other words, if you believe a certain thing, but your actions do not line up with that belief, you will feel uneasy until you modify either your beliefs or your actions (or both). In contrast, acting in accordance with your beliefs achieves resonance, i.e., positive feelings around what you are doing. Continue reading →

What HR has to really do to meet its new priorities

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By Tom Starner

From retention and recruiting to budget gaps, HR leaders have their work cut out for them in 2022, according to a recent report from the Hackett Group.

The strategic consultancy firm’s 2022 Human Resources Key Issues—based on a survey of more than 250 executives in HR, finance, IT, procurement, supply chain and global business services at midsize and large enterprises—suggests that HR leaders have to refocus their agenda this year on several key issues, says Hackett Group’s Global HR Advisory Practice Leader Harry Osle. Of particular concern, he explains, respondents said they lacked confidence that seven of the top 10 HR priorities identified are actually achievable.

“The majority of HR organizations have launched or are launching major initiatives to improve their capabilities to enable enterprise-growth strategies, digital transformation, creating a high-performing organizational culture and improving talent management,” Osle says. He adds that in order to close capability gaps, HR organizations must take greater advantage of digital technology to improve service delivery and insights.

The HR priorities survey participants identified as most challenging include:

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Making Sure That Everyone Knows Their Place

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Andy J. Yap, INSEAD Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour; Nikhil Madan, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at ISB; Phanish Puranam, the Roland Berger Chaired Professor of Strategy and Organisation Design at INSEAD

 

 

Why formal structures and greater diversity create status disagreements and how to fix the issue.

Organisations are becoming increasingly complex beasts. Globalisation has led to the rise of vast multinationals made up of diverse business units and teams operating across many countries and time zones. Perhaps unsurprisingly, such growth brings with it a series of management issues.

One pervasive challenge is the potential for disagreements between employees regarding who has higher status and who should defer to whom in situations where there are differences in views and opinions. Organisational scientists have documented that upward status disagreement (USD), a situation in which individuals disagree about who has higher status, is particularly harmful to organisations. Research shows that USD may result in a rise in interpersonal and status conflicts (i.e. attempts to assert dominance, forming opposing coalitions and making political plays). It may also increase focus on individual goals rather than collective objectives. Continue reading →

Turn the “great resignation” into the “great renegotiation”

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by Denise Hamilton

Encouraging employees to approach you with their wish lists might seem counterintuitive, but it may just be the key to retention.

The events of these past two years have been like a tornado, throwing everything into disarray. Many businesses have been trying to get back to normal. But there’s no going back. Workers are leaving their employers in droves, seeking greater fulfillment and better pay, among other opportunities. This great resignation, though, could instead be a great renegotiation. Leaders have a chance now to redesign their organizations in a way that’s more exciting and fulfilling for employees.

Doing so requires businesses to rethink their fundamental ways of operating. It means putting everything on the table, including roles, schedules, key performance indicators, individual performance metrics, and more. It takes time, energy, and work. But the incentive is clear.

I speak regularly with people who’ve recently quit their jobs and to those at all levels of organizations who are considering leaving their jobs. Many tell me they would happily stay with their employer if they could work out some changes, whether in pay, hours, opportunities for advancement, the freedom to work from anywhere, or other diverse factors. One of the big challenges for employers is understanding that different people value different things; there’s no one-size-fits-all remedy. To find solutions, employers need to listen to their employees. Continue reading →

Beyond the Great Resignation, 7 trends that will shape work in 2022

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By Brian Kropp and Emily Rose McRae

At the start of 2021, many of us expected the world to return to normalcy, including a large-scale return to the workplace for many employees. But 2021 proved more volatile than anticipated given the rise of new COVID-19 variants, a massive war for talent, quit rates at an all-time high and the highest inflation level in a generation.

The level of volatility is only increasing in 2022 as the world confronts new waves of COVID-19 variants, the continuation of hybrid work and the reality of real wage cuts for employees as annual compensation increases fall behind inflation. These realities will be layered on top of longer-term evolutions around technological transformation, continued DE&I journeys and ongoing political disruption and uncertainty.

Here are seven underlying trends that will shape the workplace this year:

1. Fairness and equity will be the defining issues for organizations.

According to our analysis of S&P 500 earnings calls, the frequency with which CEOs talk about issues of equity, fairness and inclusion on these calls has increased by 658% since 2018. Debates that have fairness at the core—around gender and race, climate change or other socio-economic, social and workplace issues—have become flashpoints in society. Continue reading →