A New Model

The six elements of a Great Place to Work For All are each important in their own right. They also fit together. Organizations are able to maximize human potential through leadership effectiveness, meaningful values, and a culture where all employees experience high levels of trust. When those pieces are in place, companies benefit from improved innovation and financial growth. In effect, the six elements work together to create a portrait of a Great Place to Work For All (see Figure 1).

It’s a thing of beauty. But creating it amounts to a challenge to leaders: to recognize human potential is the name of the new game, fairness is the playbook, and the companies that reach all of their people win. In this new era, it will be critical for CEOs to make sure their workforce and their executive team reflect the world around them. You can’t have a For All workplace if you don’t have all kinds of people there in the first place. In addition, executives who reflect the population are essential for understanding customer needs and for retaining and inspiring employees lower down in the organization. People need to see leaders who look like them to believe they can advance and for them to fundamentally trust their executives.

Figure 1
Portrait of a Great Place to Work For All

Apart from reflecting on the makeup of the C-suite—and changing it if necessary—leaders face another major adjustment. Much of the leadership development industry in recent years has told leaders to look within themselves. It’s not wrong to focus on strengths and passions, but it’s not enough in a world where the pace of business is picking up, diverse perspectives are critical, and everyone wants a say. Today’s leaders have to look outward as well—at the business landscape, of course, but also at their employees. They must get objective data on what their people are experiencing, what employees believe is working and not working. Assessment tools today, from us and others, allow for surgical precision in terms of how to improve. Employee survey data, when you measure metrics that actually drive your business and culture, is the “last mile” for making your leaders better and your culture consistently strong.