Stress, burnout, and mental health are at the forefront of conversations about the state of work today. Whether you’re experiencing these issues yourself or interacting with others who are going through them, these are issues affecting every one of us. How do we solve them?
While productivity is terribly important, human beings are not robots.
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, brings vast career experience to addressing these issues, and he suggests that empathetic leadership will be a key value to achieve success.
Driving social and economic change in the workplace, Taylor leads SHRM toward fostering mutually beneficial work environments, reaching 300,000+ members in 165+ countries who impact the lives of 110+ million workers every day. As a sought-after voice on matters affecting work, he is frequently invited to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors a weekly column, “Ask HR,” in USA Today. Johnny’s decades of industry leadership have shaped his knowledge and perspective as an expert in his field, which is why we are excited to welcome him to The Global Leadership Summit stage in August 2022! Get Tickets >>
Until then, get a taste for his wealth of insight, and enjoy this dynamic conversation between Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. and Arianna Huffington on the topic of his latest book, RESET, where he discusses practical ways to handle the workplace issues of today, including the role of empathy.
ARVE Error: Mode: lazyload not available (ARVE Pro not active?), switching to normal mode
Key Conversation Moments on Burnout, Empathy, & Creating Safe Environments
“The pandemic has given us an opportunity to rethink and reset the way that we see the world and experience the world of work,” said Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. “We have for so long focused on productivity. And while productivity is terribly important, human beings are not robots. […] Organizations must see human beings and treat them like human beings in the workforce. The productivity will come. The profits will come. But we can’t have one conversation without the other.”
Johnny recognizes two good things that have come out of the pandemic:
-
-
- The acknowledgement and destigmatization of mental health and wellness.
- Real conversations about untapped pools of talent—formerly incarcerated, older workers, differently-abled, etc.
Organizations need to reset and take action.
The two aspects of the workplace listed above have surfaced at an all-time high over the last two years, pointing us to a season where organizations are having to reset, and focus on building a better culture. “We’ve had pauses before, but the reason I didn’t name my book, The Great Pause, and instead I called it RESET is because employees everywhere took this time to stop and rethink their relationship with work, their relationship with their people, their managers and leaders, their fulfillment, purpose, and their own wellbeing, which included mental wellbeing,” said Johnny. “I think we’re going to be a very different society coming out of this.”
As Johnny also shared, the pandemic has put a spotlight on the fact that while there has been much deliberation and conversation, there is now a greater need for action—leaders must start holding themselves accountable. “It’s one thing to say you value people,” said Johnny. “Words are cheap. Actions speak. […] We as leaders have to say ‘time’s up.’ […] It’s amazing what leaders can do when they put their minds to it. […] And it’s not just about more laws. What we know is if having laws on the books would solve the problem, then we wouldn’t have continued sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. […] This is the time for us to actually connect to people’s hearts and their minds. […] I’m a big proponent of empathy. Empathy and empathetic leadership are going to drive this.”
Words are cheap. Actions speak.
Empathy is one of the first qualities that is sacrificed when people are burnt out. With loss of empathy, our people suffer, our work cultures suffer, and ultimately, our organizations suffer. Without empathy, we will be unable to solve issues of sexism, racism, and ageism, among others. “When we are burned out, we move into a fight or flight mode and into survival mode,” said Johnny. So, how does a leader recognize when their culture is suffering, and what are practical steps they can take to solve this issue?
Pay attention to turnover.
Johnny suggests that some of the early indicators that there is a cultural problem in your organization is when people are leaving—it’s about turnover. “Culture matters—it really matters,” said Johnny. “In a knowledge-based economy, we are not going to be able to attract and retain the best employees if we don’t now have a real focus on culture. Defining the culture within your organization is critical. Then it’s monitoring that culture and holding your people, leaders, and managers accountable for living those cultural values. […] Until organizational leaders are holding people accountable for living those values, then the culture will be off, and you’ll see major turnover.”
Focus on empathy.
One of the best ways to solve for this is what Johnny calls empathetic leadership, which is not to be confused with sympathy. “Sympathy is nice, but ultimately empathetic leadership is going to be the number one cultural value of every [successful] organization across national borders and industries,” said Johnny. “People have to know that their company actually cares. […] That doesn’t mean we have to always agree, right? That’s the beauty of diversity. You can have different opinions about any number of things in the workplace, but [it makes a difference] when people are listened to, and that the organization takes what they observed during these listening opportunities and actually tries to make the workplace better. If you’re going to be successful in this knowledge-based economy, you’re going to have to figure that out.”
Sympathy is nice, but ultimately empathetic leadership is going to be the number one cultural value of every [successful] organization across national borders and industries.
Create safe environments where people can push back.
“In many organizations, is the inability to give people an environment where they feel safe to be direct,” said Johnny. “You’ve got do it with dignity, civility, and respect. We’ve been taught that sometimes being direct isn’t civil, that it’s not respectful, and that’s where the mistake lies. We cannot address things that can’t be discussed. We can’t fix things and problems that have not been identified.”
In safe cultures, people feel they are allowed to disagree, and Johnny explains that this dynamic creates stronger organizations. “At the end of the day, I want we have to have an environment, and a culture that encourages people to push back,” said Johnny. “It’s not just to be difficult. It’s not to disturb the peace, but ultimately, it’s to make us better. […] When we make a decision here, then we must move forward. So, the purpose in pushing back is so that you move us forward. […] I really encourage employers to create a culture where people are not just encouraged to do it, but actually rewarded.”
We can’t fix things and problems that have not been identified.
When leaders welcome pushback, it ultimately pushes organizations forward and organizations experience greater success. This can be a difficult endeavor and requires executives to be intentional. “Get your executive team together and get very intentional and focused on articulating your culture,” said Johnny. “And I’m not talking about the culture you aspire to have—that’s step two. Let it be a very introspective exercise where you say this is what it means to work at ____. […] Sometimes as leaders we are not willing to say who we are, while we’re trying to be everything to everyone.
“[…] At the end of the day, each of us have unique cultures and we need to do our best to be clear about them, so that when you recruit a person to your organization, you can be honest—this is who we are, and this is what you’re going to spend a lot of time. This is the environment in which you’re going to work. Most CEO’s have failed at that—they have either not had a real conversation about what their culture is, or they’ve been so busy trying to create an employer brand that the words they say in the descriptors of their culture aren’t actually representative of the culture within the organization. That disconnect is why employees leave. It is why you, ultimately, in the long term, destroy your employer brand.”
Takeaway questions:
How do you define your culture?
Do your employees feel safe to push back?
Have you noticed turnover in your organization? If so, do you recognize the root cause?
How can you incorporate empathy into your organization?
Hear more from Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. at The Global Leadership Summit on August 4-5, 2022!
The Global Leadership Summit
GLN Staff Writer | Globalleadership.org/SummitJohnny C. Taylor, Jr.
President & CEO | SHRM, the Society for Human Resource ManagementEmpathetic Leadership is a Key Value in Successful Organizations—GLS22 Faculty Spotlight
TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
CultureInfluenceLeadership DevelopmentLeading OrganizationsLeading OthersResilienceTeam BuildingStress, burnout, and mental health are at the forefront of conversations about the state of work today. Whether you’re experiencing these issues yourself or interacting with others who are going through them, these are issues affecting every one of us. How do we solve them?
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, brings vast career experience to addressing these issues, and he suggests that empathetic leadership will be a key value to achieve success.
Driving social and economic change in the workplace, Taylor leads SHRM toward fostering mutually beneficial work environments, reaching 300,000+ members in 165+ countries who impact the lives of 110+ million workers every day. As a sought-after voice on matters affecting work, he is frequently invited to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors a weekly column, “Ask HR,” in USA Today. Johnny’s decades of industry leadership have shaped his knowledge and perspective as an expert in his field, which is why we are excited to welcome him to The Global Leadership Summit stage in August 2022! Get Tickets >>
Until then, get a taste for his wealth of insight, and enjoy this dynamic conversation between Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. and Arianna Huffington on the topic of his latest book, RESET, where he discusses practical ways to handle the workplace issues of today, including the role of empathy.
ARVE Error: Mode: lazyload not available (ARVE Pro not active?), switching to normal mode
Key Conversation Moments on Burnout, Empathy, & Creating Safe Environments
“The pandemic has given us an opportunity to rethink and reset the way that we see the world and experience the world of work,” said Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. “We have for so long focused on productivity. And while productivity is terribly important, human beings are not robots. […] Organizations must see human beings and treat them like human beings in the workforce. The productivity will come. The profits will come. But we can’t have one conversation without the other.”
Johnny recognizes two good things that have come out of the pandemic:
Organizations need to reset and take action.
The two aspects of the workplace listed above have surfaced at an all-time high over the last two years, pointing us to a season where organizations are having to reset, and focus on building a better culture. “We’ve had pauses before, but the reason I didn’t name my book, The Great Pause, and instead I called it RESET is because employees everywhere took this time to stop and rethink their relationship with work, their relationship with their people, their managers and leaders, their fulfillment, purpose, and their own wellbeing, which included mental wellbeing,” said Johnny. “I think we’re going to be a very different society coming out of this.”
As Johnny also shared, the pandemic has put a spotlight on the fact that while there has been much deliberation and conversation, there is now a greater need for action—leaders must start holding themselves accountable. “It’s one thing to say you value people,” said Johnny. “Words are cheap. Actions speak. […] We as leaders have to say ‘time’s up.’ […] It’s amazing what leaders can do when they put their minds to it. […] And it’s not just about more laws. What we know is if having laws on the books would solve the problem, then we wouldn’t have continued sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. […] This is the time for us to actually connect to people’s hearts and their minds. […] I’m a big proponent of empathy. Empathy and empathetic leadership are going to drive this.”
Empathy is one of the first qualities that is sacrificed when people are burnt out. With loss of empathy, our people suffer, our work cultures suffer, and ultimately, our organizations suffer. Without empathy, we will be unable to solve issues of sexism, racism, and ageism, among others. “When we are burned out, we move into a fight or flight mode and into survival mode,” said Johnny. So, how does a leader recognize when their culture is suffering, and what are practical steps they can take to solve this issue?
Pay attention to turnover.
Johnny suggests that some of the early indicators that there is a cultural problem in your organization is when people are leaving—it’s about turnover. “Culture matters—it really matters,” said Johnny. “In a knowledge-based economy, we are not going to be able to attract and retain the best employees if we don’t now have a real focus on culture. Defining the culture within your organization is critical. Then it’s monitoring that culture and holding your people, leaders, and managers accountable for living those cultural values. […] Until organizational leaders are holding people accountable for living those values, then the culture will be off, and you’ll see major turnover.”
Focus on empathy.
One of the best ways to solve for this is what Johnny calls empathetic leadership, which is not to be confused with sympathy. “Sympathy is nice, but ultimately empathetic leadership is going to be the number one cultural value of every [successful] organization across national borders and industries,” said Johnny. “People have to know that their company actually cares. […] That doesn’t mean we have to always agree, right? That’s the beauty of diversity. You can have different opinions about any number of things in the workplace, but [it makes a difference] when people are listened to, and that the organization takes what they observed during these listening opportunities and actually tries to make the workplace better. If you’re going to be successful in this knowledge-based economy, you’re going to have to figure that out.”
Create safe environments where people can push back.
“In many organizations, is the inability to give people an environment where they feel safe to be direct,” said Johnny. “You’ve got do it with dignity, civility, and respect. We’ve been taught that sometimes being direct isn’t civil, that it’s not respectful, and that’s where the mistake lies. We cannot address things that can’t be discussed. We can’t fix things and problems that have not been identified.”
In safe cultures, people feel they are allowed to disagree, and Johnny explains that this dynamic creates stronger organizations. “At the end of the day, I want we have to have an environment, and a culture that encourages people to push back,” said Johnny. “It’s not just to be difficult. It’s not to disturb the peace, but ultimately, it’s to make us better. […] When we make a decision here, then we must move forward. So, the purpose in pushing back is so that you move us forward. […] I really encourage employers to create a culture where people are not just encouraged to do it, but actually rewarded.”
When leaders welcome pushback, it ultimately pushes organizations forward and organizations experience greater success. This can be a difficult endeavor and requires executives to be intentional. “Get your executive team together and get very intentional and focused on articulating your culture,” said Johnny. “And I’m not talking about the culture you aspire to have—that’s step two. Let it be a very introspective exercise where you say this is what it means to work at ____. […] Sometimes as leaders we are not willing to say who we are, while we’re trying to be everything to everyone.
“[…] At the end of the day, each of us have unique cultures and we need to do our best to be clear about them, so that when you recruit a person to your organization, you can be honest—this is who we are, and this is what you’re going to spend a lot of time. This is the environment in which you’re going to work. Most CEO’s have failed at that—they have either not had a real conversation about what their culture is, or they’ve been so busy trying to create an employer brand that the words they say in the descriptors of their culture aren’t actually representative of the culture within the organization. That disconnect is why employees leave. It is why you, ultimately, in the long term, destroy your employer brand.”
Takeaway questions:
How do you define your culture?
Do your employees feel safe to push back?
Have you noticed turnover in your organization? If so, do you recognize the root cause?
How can you incorporate empathy into your organization?
Hear more from Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. at The Global Leadership Summit on August 4-5, 2022!
Get Tickets >>
Never miss an inspiring leadership insight or the latest leadership news!
About the Author
The Global Leadership Summit
GLN Staff Writer
The Global Leadership Summit (GLS) is a two-day infusion of actionable leadership insights and inspiration broadcast to hundreds of host sites across the United States every August. In the following months, the GLS is translated, contextualized and hosted by local leadership committees at hundreds of locations across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. This global event convenes a world-class faculty who share their distinct perspectives and expertise, inspiring and equipping people around the world with practical leadership skills that can be applied within their context, wherever they have influence, and used to empower positive transformation where it’s needed most. Attracting an audience that represents various industries, including marketplace, non-profit, healthcare, education, government, ministry and corrections, the GLS has become a unique platform, unlike any other, bringing people together to not only empower better leadership within the organizations they represent, but in a growing number of cases around the world, this event also acts as a catalyst for organic local movements initiating systemic, city-wide change. What started as a single event back in 1990’s, the GLS has grown to attract tens of thousands of people today.
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.
President & CEO
Driving social and economic change in the workplace, Taylor leads SHRM toward fostering mutually beneficial work environments that serve both business and employees, reaching 300,000+ members in over 165 countries who impact the lives of more than 110 million workers every day. As a global leader on matters affecting work, Taylor is a sought-after voice by C-suite executives as well as state and federal elected policy makers. He is frequently invited to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors a weekly column, “Ask HR,” in USA Today. He is the Chair of the President’s Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and serves on the U.S. Department of Commerce American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. His 20+ year career as a lawyer, human resources executive, and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space shape his knowledge and perspectives. His decades of industry leadership include senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, McGuireWoods LLC, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. His latest book is RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in the Age of Upheaval.