Category Archives - Culture

Prioritizing DE&I Efforts: Learn from crisis to prevent crisis

During the height of the national pain following George Floyd’s death, I came across an article written by Shenequa Golding  titled “Maintaining Professionalism in the Age of Black Death Is… A Lot.” While the article is an opinion piece, it articulated what I struggled to put into words as a Black-biracial woman. It is a…

Believe in Tomorrow – Earn and Give Trust to Help Others Believe

This is the second in a five-part series about demonstrating BOLD leadership during a pandemic transformation. Each entry in the series focuses on the characteristics of BOLD leadership that can help move organizations from reacting to COVID-19 to proactively anticipating and preparing for the opportunities that lie ahead. At all times, but no greater than…

BOLD Constrained. BOLD Released.

“They hired me because I’m bold. They are afraid of me because I’m bold.” A recent conversation with an amazing heath care leader started with that quote. It encapsulated what I’ve heard recently in a collection of BOLD interviews. And it brought back a theme I’ve heard over the past several years with many BOLD…

An Employee First Culture Risks Becoming Internally Focused and Externally Irrelevant

Which comes first, customer or employee experience?  This may sound like the proverbial “chicken or egg” question.  Both promise greater employee engagement and enhanced financial performance.  Many companies are underperforming on both. In fact, Gallup has found that fully 70% of employees do not feel engaged at work while Satmetrix reports that industry Net Promoter…

Cropped shot of a diverse group of business professionals giving each other a high-five

Intentional Culture: Start with the Employee Experience

Are you facing the question, “How do we change our culture to support the strategy we have just defined?”  As my colleagues and I were discussing this challenge, we identified an important element of creating an intentional culture: purposefully connecting the Customer Experience to the Employee Experience. When done right, good customer experience work should…

Never Hire a Consultant to Give an Answer: An Interview with Pat Donovan

I’ve known and respected Pat Donovan, CEO of Bremer Bank, for many years – ‘socially’ as they say.  Out my office window I look across a couple of city blocks to the Bremer sign atop their corporate office tower.  One day, seeing that sign, I decided to reach out and ask Pat if he would…

The 3 Elements of Trust

“Do you trust me?” This can be an emotionally charged question, yet it can be a tremendously constructive one, too. In our work we have found that getting clarity on the reasons why you do (or don’t) trust someone is just as important as the answer itself.