Defining Work Culture, with Sue Hawkes and Ali Stieglbauer

As a bestselling author, keynote speaker, Certified EOS Implementer, Certified Business Coach, WPO Chapter Chair, and globally recognized, award-winning seminar leader, Sue brings over twenty-five years of experience to her clients. She is the CEO of YESS! and has designed and delivered dynamic, transformational programs for thousands of people. Sue has received numerous awards including the Dream Keeper award recognized by the Governor’s Council for her leadership program, the Regional U.S. Small Business Administration Women in Business Champion of the Year award, the Exemplary Woman of the Community award, WomenVenture’s Unsung Hero award, Women Who Lead from Minnesota Business Magazine, NAWBO Minnesota’s Achieve! Vision Award and named a 2018 Enterprising Woman of the Year. Sue has been featured in publications including Inc., Entrepreneur, Thrive Global and The New York Daily News.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How companies can continue to drive culture and core values when they aren’t seeing employees in person
• The 3 realities of work culture during the pandemic
• How to discover the rules of engagement in the workplace
• How to measure behavior accountability
• Why productivity increased during COVID
• The unique factor of Zoom meetings vs. in-person meetings
• A framework for meetings
• Why Sue has gotten dressed for work every work day of the pandemic

Resources:

• Website: https://www.sayyess.com/
• Books: https://www.sayyess.com/books/
• LinkedIn:
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/suehawkes/
  • https://www.linkedin.com/company/suehawkesyess/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YESScoaching
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SueHawkesYESS
• Share the Goodness: yess.learnworlds.com

Connecting from a Distance

Navigating the pandemic has been challenging for all of us – particularly, learning to redefine our work experiences. While we are still on a journey of understanding and evolving our work lives, we have an opportunity to create a better work culture. My daughter, Ali Stieglbauer, is joining us once again to discuss work culture in our new normal. During our conversation, Ali and I share insights about what work culture really is and how we can maintain it, even while distanced.

Creating the Rules of Engagement

Work culture can really be defined as the core values and guidelines that everyone agrees to follow. These rules are typically unwritten and picked up on from behavioral cues and norms. When we are no longer having a shared experience in the office, we miss out on these behavioral cues – leaving everyone to make it up as they go! It’s crucial to set standards and guidelines through meeting frameworks and regular communication.

Finding Discipline

Prior to 2020, most employers couldn’t imagine allowing their employees to work from home. Many thought they wouldn’t be able to trust that their employees were actually working. They weren’t sure how they would be able to hold them accountable. Surprisingly, productivity has largely increased. Employees find that they really need to show up and get results, as a way to showcase their work.