A Generational Perspective: the value and impact of leadership and culture
When it comes to successful organisation strategies of any kind, leadership and culture are critical levers for success. They significantly account for organisation outcomes such as productivity and profit, as well as having an impact on people in the form of low wellbeing, as a result of low trust, lost time and quiet quitting, high sick leave and employee turnover.
Today’s Generation of workers is willing to call out such cultures in a way prior generations may have been uncomfortable. It’s therefore unsurprising, terms such as Destructive Leadership(1) and Toxic Cultures(2) are no longer referenced in hushed tones. In fact, this generation’s expectations of today’s leaders and cultures are expressed with a good degree of up front candour.
“We have far too many factors impacting our mental health, to risk working for organisations and leaders which will further impact them”.
We simply won’t stay.”
In a recent meeting, I was struck once again by the simplicity with which these factors influence decisions of younger generations to join or leave an organisation. And perhaps even more strikingly, this generation is not convinced by unsubstantiated promises or glossy brochures, they want proof organisations will do them no [further] harm.
Such is the impact the climate, housing and economic crises, technology and future job opportunities, have had on the younger generation’s perception of their future work and life opportunities. It’s clear to them it is having a significant impact on their wellbeing and it’s not something they take at all lightly!(3)
The Impact of Leadership and Culture on Wellbeing
With nearly 50% of workers worldwide confirming burnout has not subsided since covid, it seems the younger generation of workers is not alone in their concerns for the mental health.(4) In combination with productivity remaining stubbornly resistant in Australia, it’s worth exploring the specific characteristics of leadership and culture which contribute to improving individual experiences and organisation outcomes.(5)
The Vital Role of Safety in the Modern Workplace
Whilst physical safety has been a focus since the unchecked human costs of the Industrial Revolution, Kahn and Schein & Bennis have highlighted the importance of interpersonal safety in teams since the 1960s. In 1999, however, it was Edmondson’s counter-intuitive discovery in hospitals, in combination with Google’s data driven analysis, which created the current desire to maximise the promise of Psychological Safety, and its impact on innovation and team performance.
More recently, some jurisdictions in Australia have instituted a legal requirement to create psychosocial safety and cultural safety. This is in recognition of reasonable and sustainable job expectations in the context of the modern workplace, and the importance of constructive and productive workplace relationships and behaviours in achieving performance outcomes.(6)
Despite the proven positive organisation and individual impacts of constructive and productive workplace environments for all identities and intersectionalities, they remain remarkably elusive in practice.
This is particularly true of Cultural Safety, which means ‘everyone regardless of culture, need to be treated with respect, inclusion and transparent management and health and safety policies’.(6) It also requires “everyone to understand that their own values or practices are not always… the best way to solve workplace problems.”(6)
The US Surgeon General’s Model of Wellbeing @ Work
The Importance and Impact of Respect and Inclusion at Work
As the recent legislation updates and Respect @ Work Report highlight, Respect is the foundation on which safety and inclusion at work are based. It therefore makes respect a central priority of leadership and the foundation on which modern workplace cultures, and wellbeing and belonging are built. In fact, Respect is 17.9x stronger than other typical dimensions of culture in predicting how people rate their organisation’s culture.(2) Supportive leaders are the 2nd most important factor in how team members rate their organisation’s culture.(2, 3)
Interestingly another significant predictor of an organisation’s culture is how team members speak about people from under-represented groups eg. gender non-binary, cultural minorities etc….
More recently, Clark’s 4 Stages of Psychological Safety, which actually articulates the code for inclusion in teams, in combination with Deloitte’s and McQuaid & Paige’s research, confirms its link in promoting Wellbeing and Belonging at work. This is also supported by DCA’s ongoing research, which confirms the positive impact of inclusion on organisation outcomes, and that minority groups are more likely to experience lower levels of inclusion than others.(7)
The Law Becomes the New Baseline for Productivity and Wellbeing
Given the importance organisation productivity and personal wellbeing to the future prosperity of Australia, in conjunction with the comparative lack of success in consistently creating constructive and productive workplaces, the law has now been invoked to create a new (higher) baseline.
In conjunction with the Respect @ Work legislation, organisations are now proactively required to embrace a more constructive and productive approach to the way they operate and innovate. When consistently executed, it also benefits the wellbeing and belonging of individuals.
The Proof is in the Pudding: for younger generations
The modern workplace characteristics described above are very much aligned with the expectations of today’s younger generation. However, they have lived the experiences of their parents and heard the stories of their friends, which tells them the ‘proof is in the pudding’. Whilst the younger generation has been well known for its shorter tenures in the workplace, perhaps we now have an additional lense through which to understand this.(8)
For generations who have relied on the strength of systems and structures to promote consistency and efficiency in achieving organisation productivity and performance, it can be challenging to appreciate how human emotion and wellbeing can positively impact an organisation’s ability to deliver results.(9)
There is, however, a plethora of evidence which confirms relying less on traditional command and control leadership and cultures, and more on consultative and supportive ones, creates the foundations for productivity and performance, wellbeing and belonging to thrive.(9)
Job satisfaction, productivity, retention, mental health, team conflict, collaboration, creativity and innovation are all enhanced through constructive and productive workplace environments. (10)
We also know this same foundation unlocks collective intelligence, which is uniquely suited to solving problems in an ambiguous and fast moving world, and central to today’s environment.(9)
For organisations making a determined effort to authentically embrace the values of Safety, Respect and Inclusion, they can expect to achieve not only positive financial and reputational dividends for their organisation, they can also expect to secure the loyalty of the next generation of high performing talent.
At I LEAD Consulting we’re on a mission to simplify Diversity and Inclusion for Leaders and Teams.
PRACTICE INCLUSION | EMBRACE DIVERSITY | ACTIVATE ALLIES
References: 1. Mackay et. al.; 2. Sull and Sull; 3. Grattan Institute; ABC News; The Australian Youth Barometer; The Youth Affairs Council Victoria; 4. BCG; 5. Australian Productivity Commission; 6. Safework Australia; 7. Diversity Council of Australia; 8. Australian Bureau of Statistics; 9. Wiseman; McKinsey; 10. CCL, Better-up, Friedman
