Healthy Leaders and the Power of Caring

Leaders are always under a lot of pressure. When better business results are needed, leaders must make it happen. When there is a crisis, such as a pandemic, leaders are expected to step up and get the organization through it.

No matter the situation, leaders are expected to drive business results while also managing and coaching their employees and providing them with a good work experience.

But who takes care of the leaders? How do organizations ensure they have healthy leaders with the capacity to not only execute all their responsibilities but care about their employees, help build their resilience and enable them to evolve in an environment of continuous change?

A new eBook, The Leadership and Well-Being Connection, stresses that leaders need to be well to do well and organizations must do more to develop healthy leaders so they, in turn, can care for their employees.

“A holistic approach to well-being, touching all aspects of life, including their physical, emotional, intellectual, social, vocational and spiritual wellness, is the key to healthy leadership,” said Bob Rosen, CEO of The Healthy Leader, which develops innovative leader development programs and published the eBook. 

“In the middle of organizations, leaders must understand people’s personal desires for healthand well-being,” Rosen said. “That means helping them live healthy lives and creating psychologically safe and healthy work environments. It is up to the leaders to get to know their people, their diverse life experiences and their feelings and aspirations. In the post-pandemic world, knowing your people is more important than ever.”

Brandon Hall Group research supports the fact that managers who care about their people drive business results. In organizations where leaders care highly about employees’ careers and experience, employees are:

  • 4 times more likely to have a strong sense of well-being
  • 4 times more likely to say they feel heard by the organization
  • 3 times more likely to be highly engaged
  • 3 times more likely to feel valued
  • 2 times more likely  to have a strong sense of belonging to the organization

Source: 2021 Brandon Hall Group Study, Career Development: Are You Considering What Employees Want?

Unfortunately, only about one-third of organizations say their managers are integrally involved in partnering with their employees for their well-being and career growth. Our research study, Career Development: Are You Considering What Employees Want?, shows that:

  • 34% of organizations have managers who consistently help employees grow in their current roles.
  • 31% of organizations have managers who consistently take the time to understand employees’ personal and professional aspirations.

A majority of employers (56%) say it is important to develop inclusive leaders who care about all aspects of employee well-being, according to our 2021 leadership development research. But they are challenged to do so. About seven in 10 organizations say leaders have little or no time in the day to learn and improve themselves or to make themselves a priority.

Rosen asserts that it is imperative that organizations place a higher priority on health and well-being for leaders and all employees.

“Simply put, you hire the right people with the right skills and invest in their health and well-being,” the eBookrecommends. “This leads to a stronger employee experience and greater engagement, which translates into better efficiency and effectiveness, leading to higher business productivity. By placing well-being in the middle of the chain, we create a strong multiplier effect over time because employees are more resilient and adaptive to shifting demands and imperatives.”

The key to success post-pandemic, Rosen says, where “no normal” is the new normal, is developing healthy leaders and addressing well-being across the enterprise. That leads to a strong culture that drives business outcomes.

“Organizations that get leadership, well-being and culture right will prosper,” Rosen said. “Those that do not will fall further behind their competitors for talent and revenue.”

-Claude Werder, Senior VP and Principal HCM Analyst, Brandon Hall Group

Like what you see? Share with a friend.

Mike Cooke

Search

Categories

Stay connected

Get notified for upcoming news subscribing

Related Content

Mike Cooke

Chief Executive Officer of Brandon Hall Group Mike Cooke Prior to joining Brandon Hall Group, Mike Cooke was the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AC Growth. Mike held leadership and executive positions for the majority of his career, at which he was responsible for steering sales and marketing teams to drive results and profitability. His background includes more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, management, and operations in the research, consulting, software and technology industries. Mike has extensive experience in sales, marketing and management having worked for several early high-growth emerging businesses and has implemented technology systems to support various critical sales, finance, marketing and client service functions. He is especially skilled in organizing the sales and service strategy to fully support a company’s growth strategy. The concept of growth was an absolute to Mike and a motivator in starting AC Growth, in order to help organizations achieve research driven results. Most recently, Mike was the VP and General Manager of Field Operations at Bersin & Associates, a global analyst and consulting services firm focused on all areas of enterprise learning, talent management and talent acquisition. Tasked with leading the company’s global expansion, Mike led all sales operations worldwide. During Mike’s tenure, the company has grown into a multi-national firm, conducting business in over 45 countries with over 4,500 multi-national organizations. Mike started his career at MicroVideo Learning Systems in 1992, eventually holding a senior management position and leading all corporate sales before founding Dynamic Minds. Mike was CEO and Co-Founder of Dynamic Minds, a custom developer of software programs, working with clients like Goldman Sachs, Prentice Hall, McGraw Hill and Merrill Lynch. Also, Mike worked for Oddcast, a leading provider of customer experience and marketing solutions, where he held a senior management position leading the company into new markets across various industries. Mike also serves on the Advisory Board for Carbon Solutions America, an independent sustainability consulting and carbon management firm that specializes in the design and implementation of greenhouse reduction and sustainability plans as well as managing the generation of carbon and renewal energy and energy efficiency credits. Mike attended University of Phoenix, studying Business Administration and Finance. He has also completed executive training at the Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, IL.

Resubscribe to our email distribution list.