Reinforcing the Role of Care in the Workplace - Highlights from Influence Greatness 2024

I had the great privilege of attending Influence Greatness hosted by O.C. Tanner last week.  O.C. Tanner specializes in reward and recognition solutions for organizations.

Yes, we learned about some of the latest thinking in rewards and recognition, but the conference focused primarily on care - care for employees' holistic wellbeing.  It was neat to be surrounded by HR professionals and speakers who genuinely care, and further, O.C. Tanner ensured that care was wrapped around every detail of the conference - from enriching content to nourishing meal options.

In the future should you have the opportunity to attend in person, say "Yes!"  A virtual version of the Influence Greatness conference is coming October 8. I encourage you to make time.  I understand videos of each speaker will be available with supplemental content.  It's offered at no cost and will be time well spent.

In this post I'm sharing highlights from my notes that I will be leveraging going forward.  I also have actionable concepts from the conference that you can apply to your work in Talent Development.

10 Highlights from Influence Greatness 2024

There are ten highlights from Influence Greatness that I want to remember and continue to reflect on.  They are also packed with tangible ideas that I'd like to pass along to you with direct application to the workplace.  I love the strategic, purpose-driven ideas at conferences, and sometimes when I sit down at my desk to apply them, they are too macro-focused.  So for my own, and hopefully for your benefit, too, here's a short list of things I think we Talent Folk can apply.

Favorites: the mountain setting, Olympic Gold Medalists, the Woodhalls & Blue Zone health

Let's Talk about Joy & Love at Work More Often

I just love the purpose that Mindi Cox, Chief Marketing & People Officer at O.C. Tanner shared opening the conference:

• To listen intently,

• Care deeply and

• Act to help employees thrive.

I didn't catch if that was the purpose of the conference or O.C. Tanner as a company; either way it's an awesome purpose and 100% resonates.  It was fantastic to be with other HR professionals who have the same concern and goal for employee engagement - wellbeing, gratitude, recognition and joy.  I mean, we talked about joy and love during the conference.  How refreshing.  How often do you get to spend "work time" talking about joy and love?  We should do it more often.

Be an Upstander Practicing Radical Respect

Kim Scott Introduces Her New Book

Kim Scott provided an overview of her new book Radical Respect with recommendations on how to address bias, prejudice and bullying.  Her presentation was fun, real and on point.  I'll share a couple of points here, and then we just need to read the book:

• Notably, leaders have a responsibility to disrupt bias, extend grace, create space for conversations about prejudice and create consequences for bullying.

• All of us are responsible for being Upstanders when encountering situations of bias, prejudice or bullying.  We deal with these situations every day when coaching, advising, teaching and delivering talent solutions.  As Upstanders, we don't ignore them, and must learn to redirect or diffuse with as much kindness and respect as possible.  My notes tell me to be direct, distract when needed and check-in, and I look forward to reading the book to expand on these brief notes.

  
  

Kim Scott, Radical Respect

I'm a total Kim Scott & Radical Candor fangirl.  Of course I was at the front of the line for a picture and autograph!

Side note:  Radical Candor is a favorite leadership book recommendation for anyone leading people.  It's all about being direct + kind with the goal of helping employees be their best.  Yep, I wrote a Book Brief on Radical Candor!  Did I mention I'm a fangirl?  I look forward to also loving Radical Respect.

Employees are Either Surviving or Thriving

O.C. Tanner Institute 2025 Global Culture Report

O.C. Tanner conducts annual research on reward and recognition.  The guidance they offer companies in 2025 is to focus on "generative care," and it boils down to helping employees survive so they can thrive.

This annual report particularly resonated with me.  The O.C. Tanner Institute boiled down the state of the employee experience to either employees struggling to survive or really thriving.  31% of employees report being in survival mode most of the time.  When I'm in survival mode, I "feel anxious, financially uncertain, doubtful of growth opportunities, and pessimistic about the future" (2025 Global Culture Report, p 6).  They are waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop, being one flat tire away from not being able to make ends meet.  They are struggling to afford regular life - not extravagant life.  Their long-term focus is on financial stability.

On the other hand, when thriving, employees "feel their organization cares about their mental health, they work in a cooperative workplace, and they have opportunities for growth and mentorship" (p 6).  When employees are thriving they think about the future in terms of growth opportunities and with optimism.  They are eager to engage in work and grow a career.

It's a lot to consider, and a frame of reference I want to keep in mind as I approach work situations:  How are we helping employees move from survive to thrive?  How can we care appropriately in this or that situation?

Embed Recognition in the Flow of Work

This is a logical point that I endeavor to remember whenever we are adding something new to an employee or managers to-do list.  There's a lot going on at work and if we don't make it easy and relevant, whatever that "it" is won't get done.  So, let's use the filter of embedding any new initiative into the flow of work, so that it's a natural part of the day and easy to do.  We talked about this quite a bit in conference breakout sessions.

Focus on Creating Memories to Create Connections

One point that resonated with me from various sessions was the importance of creating connections - connections between employees and connections with the company.  Create memories that fuel employees' joy when they think back on their time with an organization.  Provide positive fuel for great stories.

Wellbeing is Top of Mind

Holistic wellbeing is top-of-mind.  That's wellbeing of the heart, mind and body.  Employees are vocal about being burnt out and have big concerns about mental stability and health.  One company shared that their employees are engaging mental health benefits to a greater scale than medical benefits. 

Physical wellness initiatives have a renewed focus in how they can support mental wellbeing as well as physical health.  Two companies shared that they have established mindful workplace practices to help reduce stress and promote a culture of openness and respect.  They included things like being present, shortening meetings, disconnecting and setting boundaries and connecting authentically.  I love this concept.  Let's partner with departments that focus on wellness, oftentimes that's Benefits.

Sample Mindful Workplace Practices

Here's a sample from one of the organizations who shared their recently released workplace norms to stem burnout and support wellbeing:

The next two highlights go hand-in-hand with wellbeing as a top priority.

Conscious Capitalism by Raj Sisodia

I'm in love with the concept of conscious capitalism by Raj Sisodia. 

One poignant story he shared:  two different employees hit the same deep rut in the road on the way to work.  One has the financial means to call an auto service and her car is repaired during the work day and delivered in time for her drive home.  The other employee can't afford auto service, waits three hours for a tow truck and ride from a friend only to be berated for being late.  She's then expected to provide exemplary customer service while working through how to pick up her kids and get to work the next day without a car.  People are heroic.  They are each dealing with things in life, and yet they show up to work to help customers, deliver on projects and meet deadlines.  Companies can help employees survive and still realize high financial returns.  The virtuous cycle of care for employees who care for customers who return for additional business reinforces that, and I've experienced it first hand working at organizations like Southwest Airlines.  Helping employees survive will also help them thrive.

Blue Zones with Dan Buettner

As noted, wellbeing was discussed a lot throughout the event.  Dan Buettner discussed his work discovering why people in Blue Zones live so much longer and without debilitating illnesses.  The main note I took:  grains, beans, nuts & greens + friends.  I'm intrigued to learn more about the nine principles he outlined to invest in my own health.

This application is for you, Talent Colleagues:  I want you to be healthy and to live long, joyful lives.  Learn about the Blue Zones and emulate their habits, such as having three close friends who you spend quality time with, incorporate activity into your day, seek your purpose and my favorite - eat a primarily plant-based diet.  I wish I could tell you I'm vegan because I'm uber healthy - sadly, not so.  I'll be making changes to my diet to include more whole foods, seeking to take joy in preparing and eating quality, tasty meals.

And for fun: 

Storytelling with The Moth is Brilliant

In a 1.5 hour workshop talented facilitators from The Moth had participants telling well thought out stories with a solid arc and details to draw you in.  I will be keeping my eyes peeled for StorySLAM events in my area.

Olympic Gold Medalists Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall are Awesome

Hearing from Olympic gold medalists Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall was an unexpected pleasure.  I'm not the best at keeping up with pop culture, including the athletes to know at the Olympics.  I do remember Tara Davis-Woodhall winning the long jump.  I had no idea they were also down-to-earth people bringing positivity and joy to fellow humans. 

Shoutout & Thanks to O.C. Tanner

Hats off to the O.C. Tanner Team - the conference was well done and inspiring.  We heard from industry thought leaders cultivated to help us think about corporate well being, and had the opportunity to hear from and network with Total Reward gurus who are getting it right in their organizations.

Thank you, O.C. Tanner.  You are kind and accommodating hosts, who also curate an excellent agenda.  Thanks again for the generous invitation.  This was a boost and just the inspiration I needed.

Your turn:

Which of these points resonate the most with you and your work group? 

Fellow IG24 attendees, I'd love to hear your top highlights.