I had the good fortune to attend David Hunnicutt’s Intensive Seminar traini
ng on healthy culture creation. This afternoon, I caught up with him to ask what he saw as the Big Idea of the conference.
He pointed out that our next steps in the field will require going beyond the obvious — the walking programs, stress programs, education programs, financial wellness programs. The Big Idea here is to recognize that these “usual suspects” won’t work, unless the ground is prepared in advance.
To do that, we need to create a compelling vision that can be easily articulated to motivate leadership, managers, and employees. Next, processes need to be put into place to improve employee communications of that vision (knowing their expectations, feeling comfortable giving/receiving feedback, and improving peer to peer relationships). These two help create an environment that is more resilient, positive, and passionate about their daily work.
As that positive environment develops, only then will the popular poster-child programs be able to take hold and flourish.
Again, to echo Dr. O’Donnell from yesterday, the number and distribution of wellness programs have dramatically expanded in the past decade. But all of those programs need a positive culture to grow in — like seeds need fertile ground. What we’re seeing more of now is the emphasis on creating the conditions that will allow the standard programs to work best. We have a proliferation of seeds, now we need better soil.
