In 2019 Clockwork CEO Nancy Lyons shared her vision for how to transform workplace cultures at the Midwest Health Promotion Conference. Given what has happened in the last two years, her keynote speech is more relevant than ever.
Lyons began her talk with the story of NBC news reporter Cynthia McFadden spotlighting Clockwork as “The best place to work in America.” McFadden described “unlimited vacation,” potlucks, free beer, and the Babies@Work program. Lyons said this was the biggest moment of her life and NBC chose to focus on “perks and gimmicks.” What McFadden missed was what Lyons emphasizes is so important in workplace culture: how you feel when you go to work. According to Lyons, “Culture determines how we act. How we behave. How we talk to each other. The energy that we show up with.”
We make culture
One main point of Lyons’ talk is that we all contribute to wellness at work and “every single one of us is responsible for culture. Culture is created by the way that people actually act with each other. Not what’s in the marketing brochure. Not what’s in the employee manual.”
Lyons encourages us to cultivate a sense of ownership at work; she says, “We have to take ownership. It is not just given to us.” We “have to treat the organization, its reputation and its future like it’s our own, because it is. Because your identity is tied up in your work.”
What’s sacred at work?
Lyons said, “We have to decide what’s sacred to us, to the organization, to the space that we’re in. And sacred isn’t a word we use at work.” At Clockwork, every few months they bring out a white board and ask “What can we never lose? What are we actually working toward here?” When you start defining and creating those sacred things, your culture becomes more visible. If you think culture isn’t your job, Lyons argues that we are all a part of micro-cultures that exist within organizations — when you start experiencing successes that other people notice, you influence the larger organization.
Actions steps
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