Caring Leadership: 5 key questions for cultivating a caring culture

Leaders play an increasingly fundamental role in guiding their organizational culture through transformational journeys.

In brief

• Why does fostering a caring company culture through transformations make a difference?
• Leaders can ask five essential questions to create a culture that embraces everyone’s opinion and make people feel safe.

Why do managers still consider themselves “caring leaders” while falling short of demonstrating care consistently to their teams? 1 According to EY’s Transformation Leadership: Humans@Center research – jointly conducted with the Oxford Said Business School - the trend can be attributed to different factors. In fact, the research found that emotional support (care) is key in unlocking successful transformations as well as creating a culture that embraces and encourages everyone’s opinion.

To bridge the gap between perceived and demonstrated care, leaders can take dedicated steps to support their employees throughout transformations while fostering a culture of empathy and support. This article poses five questions that leaders can ask themselves to determine if they are playing their part in creating an organizational culture that cares.
 

1. Have I prepared for the workforce and the leaders of my teams to go through an emotional journey?

Interviewed participants of the research almost unanimously recognized that strong emotions were part of transformations. Indeed, emotions (positive, neutral and negative) are the key to unlocking a successful transformation — or, if the organization is unprepared, having the transformation spiral down into failure. Interestingly, the research also pointed out that next to emotions being different during the various stages of transformations, they were different amongst senior leaders or the workforce. Notably, 17% of senior leaders felt negative after successful transformations. Simultaneously, this number was 21% of the wider workforce. When asked about underperforming transformations, 26% of senior leaders felt positive, while only 9% of the workforce felt similarly. Both successful and unsuccessful transformations trigger various emotions from different workforce segments.

How can leaders understand the nuances of emotions and be prepared to address them effectively? Pay attention to non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language or your employees’ tone of voice. These can provide valuable insights into employees’ emotions, even when they may not explicitly express them. Also, never dismiss or belittle emotions, even if you may not fully understand them. Everyone experiences emotions differently through transformations, and it is essential to respect them appropriately.
 

2. Have I validated the emotions of the workforce?

Leaders need to understand how emotions work and harness them at the right moment to keep the entire population of their organizations motivated and engaged while providing appropriate emotional support to prevent anxiety and burnout from bubbling up. Emotional support is a crucial component of leadership, our research confirmed. The model applied in our study indicated that emotional support helps create a caring environment for employees. It could equally improve the average likelihood of transformation success by 17%. Still, emotions are often dismissed and unrecognized by leaders. Our research found that the workforce involved in underperforming transformations felt stressed, unheard of and unsupported during and after the transformation. What’s more, the follow-up conversations revealed that leaders often were unaware of these emotions and the burden an underperforming transformation posed on the workforce.

How can leaders prevent such experiences? Make employees aware of available support resources such as counseling services, employee assistance programs, or mental health resources. Ensure employees know where to seek help if they experience emotional difficulties during transformations. It is fundamental that emotions are not just recognized but validated as well. Acknowledge employees’ feelings and let them know that it is okay to have those emotions. Avoid dismissing or minimizing their concerns and provide reassurance when needed.
 

4. How can I call up my people during transformations?

As stated earlier, the respondents of our interviews almost unanimously agreed that emotions, no matter what, are part of transformations. Leaders need to accept and embrace this rather than trying to avoid them. In fact, the research found that psychological safety can be created by encouraging the workforce to speak up and, equally, by calling them up.

How can the workforce be best called up during transformations? Not surprisingly, transformations provide organizations and their people with the right number of challenges. Set your transformation for success by offering individuals stretch assignments and new responsibilities. Assigning tasks that require them to extend their capabilities and acquire new skills – in areas such as change or project management – can inspire personal and professional growth and create a sense of pride and belonging that will foster long-lasting positive emotions.
 

5. How can I turn stress into a positive force during transformations without leading to anxiety or apathy?

Several of the leaders participating in the research stated that they wish they had been “calm under pressure” and had been there “to motivate people”. Managing emotions – including stress – during transformations is crucial, as these projects often involve significant changes and can be challenging for employees. A number of studies2 reported that new users of ERP systems may experience changes in their work relationship, workload or how they perceive their level of job security. These factors may very easily lead to employees’ increased level of personal stress that occurs because of a reliance on technology3. 

So, how can you manage organization-wide stress and turn it into a positive driving force during transformations?

• Emphasize that challenges and stress are natural aspects of the transformation journey and that mistakes are learning opportunities. By fostering a growth mindset, one that sees stress as a catalyst for growth and development, stress can be easily turned into a force that drives and does not hold back transformations. Many in the workforce said that they learned to “trust in your knowledge” and “your own experience” and to remember to “be humble so you can grow” during the transformation.
• Equally, leaders participating in the study had expressed they wish they had been “more supportive” and had “more patience” under pressure. Remember, transformation impacts individuals with emotions, feeling and personal situations. Show empathy and understanding towards your team members’ experiences and provide the right support at the right time as needed.
  
  

Don’t stop at the finish line

Leaders will have to pay close attention to what their people are saying, identify the cause of their anxiety, and try to solve problems in a way that is both productive and emotionally supportive. Most importantly, caring for the workforce should not stop at the finish line of transformations. As one of the interviewed COOs put it “…. People did feel that they could contribute to the transformation … they were engaged … listened to and taken on board … we are still like that today.”

As a final note, you, as a leader, should dare to care, as caring is daring. Caring for emotions leads to daring to change again and again.