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Competition for top talent is a priority for CEOs all over the place. The news is stuffed with different approaches that firms are taking to attract and retain top talent, but I consider all of it comes down to culture. Increasingly, top people want to join organizations where they’ll bring their “whole selves” to work. But what does that actually mean, and how can CEOs foster such a culture?
At Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA), our organizational values align with the “whole person approach.” This recognizes that employees are multifaceted human beings with completely unique experiences and potential.
It’s a concept that encourages leaders to value the experiences, values, aspirations, and job roles of each team member. Raising children, caring for friends and family, navigating relationships, welcoming a recent pet, standing up to the neighbors, and more—we are all multifaceted.
Job descriptions don’t encompass the whole person, and we would like our employees to bring all that makes them unique to our culture. Similarly, we recognize that employees have lives and interests outside the office that deserve time and respect. In this fashion, we thoughtfully promote inclusive and empathetic leadership to build the vibrant culture that is at the heart of KOA.
So how can other business leaders embrace the whole person in their organizations? Here are five suggestions based on my experience:
1. Campfire conversations build culture
Create opportunities for employees to interact informally and share what’s on their minds. At KOA, I commonly host fireside chats with cross-functional groups of employees. It’s a likelihood for us to get to know each other as human beings beyond the demands of projects and deadlines.
As a CEO, I recognize the importance of sharing my whole self in each of those chats, but I also try to actively listen. I learn so much about our people—and the company—every time, and our collective knowledge strengthens human connections across the company. Think about what your organization’s version of a campfire chat is likely to be. Keep it easy, and I promise you’ll be amazed at what you learn and the culture-building advantages that come from it.
2. Honesty is kindness
Over the course of my profession, I have turn into a huge advocate of radical candor. Conflict is difficult, but as I have grown as a leader, I have learned that it is not the enemy. If you would like convincing, I highly recommend the book “Radical Honesty“Kim Scott. In short, this book is “how to kick ass at work without losing your humanity.” For me, this was a game changer because it modified my approach to giving feedback in difficult situations. It’s the key to unlocking growth in people.
When you approach honest feedback from a place of empathy, it truly is an act of kindness. When someone takes the time to invest in you and share insights to enable you grow and improve, it is a tremendous gift.
The more you cultivate a culture of honesty in your organization, the more it can be perceived that way. Addressing issues head-on is key to a healthy culture. When things don’t escalate, people learn and move on, and toxicity doesn’t have a likelihood to take root.
3. Health is wealth
Spending time outdoors is essential to a person’s well-being. Spending time in nature is synonymous with improved physical and mental health. You might think that a company founded on these values wouldn’t have to spend much time nurturing the well-being of its employees, but we don’t. We are all the time looking for ways to support and encourage our employees to connect with nature, our most beneficial resource.
I haven’t all the time been the best at doing this for myself, and I’m honest with our employees. I’ve struggled with burnout and I talk about it openly with others at KOA. I’m aware that folks take cues from what I say and do, so when I take a time without work to go fishing or spend time with my family, I don’t hide it.
Early in my profession, I sacrificed exercise and sleep for what I believed at the time to be the greater good, but the physical repercussions were real. The truth is, I’m not at my best for my family or my employees when I’m exhausted.
Mental health issues are just as real, and I encourage my employees to talk about issues in their personal lives if they feel comfortable. I’m working on making exercise a higher priority, and I let my employees see me doing it to empower them to do the same. When it comes to my very own mental health, therapists and executive coaches have helped me at various points in my profession as I juggled growing my business and raising 4 kids.
4. Sensitivity is strength
I’ve found this to be one of the hardest lessons to learn as I’ve progressed through my leadership journey. Early in my profession, I put pressure on myself to be perfect—or at least to project perfectionism onto others because of the responsibilities I had or the promotions I used to be trying to achieve. But over time, I’ve learned that perfection doesn’t exist, and there’s great power in vulnerability. No one was born knowing every thing, and CEOs and other leaders can’t be expected to know every thing. That’s why we hire smart, talented people and trust them to unleash their expertise.
As a leader, you may say, (*5*) or “I made a mistake.” It may look like a small thing, but it has a domino effect and opens the door for others to be honest (keep in mind that radical candor?) when opportunities for improvement arise. A culture where it’s protected to make mistakes and share weaknesses is a healthy culture. And by unlocking that transparency and dialogue, you’ll create a multiplier effect of opportunities to grow and learn. Every CEO is responsible for growth, and vulnerability is the way to drive growth through culture. There’s a reason Peter Drucker said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
5. Be curious
Leaders should all the time be curious about their people in the spirit of welcoming the whole person to work every day. Think about the people on your team for a second. Do you know what motivates them? Do you know what inspires them? Do you know what their personal goals are outside of the office? Be a student of your employees and encourage them to learn about their colleagues in the same way.
Intellectual curiosity is a part of what makes us human. There is all the time something to learn. Let your employees see you learning a recent skill, trying a recent hobby, traveling somewhere you’ve never been, experimenting with a recent recipe, etc. Being a student of the world and sharing those experiences allows them to do the same and bring their whole selves to work as they grow.
Culture is all the time a work in progress, and this is a “look under the tent” of how we think about culture at KOA. Keeping the whole person at the center has worked for us and applies to others in leadership.