What's on your sticky?

Our team headed out (over?) to Madison, WI for CultureCon last week. Below I want to share a few thoughts, from a few days talking culture, with a few hundred CHROs, Employee Experience Leads, CLOs, DEI leaders, and active, engaged employees.?

Here are our top 3 take-aways:

1. Just say no: Performance doesn’t absolve culture blockers. As a leader, you have to determine whether you’re better off cutting out those who resist/hurt your culture, even if they “deliver”. Try identifying your cultural changemakers. Studies show that admins are among the most influential but overlooked.??
2. Culture isn’t a spectator sport: You can't rely on your own impressions of company culture or survey data alone. You have to talk to your people. Use these insights to activate opportunities based on the common points you uncover. Remember, you don't need to ride a tsunami of change; you just need to have an idea that grabs your people's attention to start.
3. Invest in what you can control:? Many HR/Culture leaders are over-indexed to benefits and policies that focus on individuals - gyms, EAPs, perks, meditation - whose use and adoption are out of your control. Instead, invest more into the systems and structures that shape your culture and drive collective habits - empathetic leadership, manager training, team-work agreements, DEI, and ERGs.

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In addition to learning from everyone at the event, we had the opportunity to lead a Kunik Conversation with one of our awesome experts. Our topic? Beat Back Burnout - A Systemic Approach.?

You might be wondering why we chose that topic when it seems like every other headline, blog post and podcast is about burnout these days. Two reasons: 1. You’re hearing about it everywhere because it is a massive problem 2. You’re still hearing about it because what’s been tried isn’t working.?

Why? Simply put, organizations are over-indexed on self-care and nourishment and lacking in other areas. Instead, we should be putting more resources into the tools we can control - habits, culture, processes, leadership. (read more of our thoughts on burnout here)

This is what we dug into during our Conversation. What are the most impactful solutions companies can invest in? (hint: think managers, not meditation).?

The point was powerfully driven home when the audience tried to guess where their current programs, benefits, and perks fell on a chart mapping $$ invested vs org impact. The take-away: most of us are missing the mark. We need to think about the systemic causes - communication, leadership, team structures, culture alignment - more than perks.?

My favorite part though - and I think the most telling of where we really are when it comes to tackling the root causes - was when we asked the audience the below questions and asked them to put their answers on sticky notes around the room:We also asked the audience these questions and asked them answer with sticky notes around the room:?

1. What are you doing well to support your people? What could you do better?
2. What strategies do you, your team, or your organization use to actively reduce pressure??

For anyone interested - I’m happy to share what the sticky notes said. But for now, I'll turn those questions to each of you. What would you have put on a sticky note?

At Kunik, we think a lot of this has to do with taking action. Many companies are listening to their people through surveys but then they get stuck. They don’t know where/how to start putting into place solutions. That’s where we come in.?

What would your sticky notes say? For anyone who wants to share their sticky notes with us, we’d be happy to have a brainstorming session!

Trending Topics: These are popular programs and topics we’re working on with partners at the moment:?

• Trust: Inter-org & teams
• Why resilience is dead (counter point: adaptive resilience)
• Team collaboration & creativity
• (Re)building social capital
• Peer Learning & Cohorts
• Onboarding Overhaul
• Post-Reorg Cohesion

What we’re reading: Here’s what caught our eye recently!?

• The nonlinear workday?
• The quiet quitting phenomenon?
• Keeping hybrid employees engaged?
• The hidden power of workplace rituals?
• Why DEI fails many black professionals
• The WFH revolution is a trap for women?
• The rise of the worker productivity score?
• How to get your team onboard with change
• GenZ doesn’t want to be stuffed in a cubicle
• Employees are leaning on leaders for happiness?
• Americans are breaking up with their work friends?
• The many values of authentic leadership: well + good