Pixie Dust: Culture & engagement are more than sprinkling pixie dust

Mar 26

As we sat in a conference room during a leadership team quarterly retro, one of my colleagues said, “I feel like Marnie is going around sprinkling her pixie dust, but people are still concerned about the trajectory of the business.”

Ouch. My little fairy wings drooped a bit. 😞🧚

But then I got frustrated, not because it wasn’t true…but because it was true. And I’m a dadgum business professional (not a fairy).

This was the moment I realized I was trying to overcome a fundamental business strategy miss with a misaligned people strategy. That employee engagement with this particular company had been a responsibility reserved for the People Team. And that maybe, just maybe…we needed to “revisit” what employee engagement actually entailed (and all who were responsible for it).

The fact is, people pros quite frequently find themselves sprinkling pixie dust over a cake that’s not baked. 🥮 In other words, their efforts are misaligned and they lack the empowerment to create meaningful programs and communication.

The misalignment trap

It happens a lot…companies falling into the misalignment trap. 🪤

They set off on a business strategy and roadmap, but fail to align their people ecosystem. The result? A cringe-worthy cultural disconnect between what the company is working towards and the engagement and cultural curation efforts meant to support that plan.

It’s like setting off on a road trip from Texas to Colorado but GPS has you headed to Nebraska. No offense to Nebraska, but no road trip playlist is going to make me feel better about ending up an entire state away from my intended destination.

Why does this happen?

There are a few common culprits behind this strategy-culture misalignment hot mess. 🫠

Lack of cross-functional collaboration

Sometimes founders and executives hold business strategy close to the vest. Even more, some share their strategy but fail to get input from the rest of their leadership team (and yes…this should include the people team). This leaves people teams and leaders stumbling around in the dark, hoping their engagement initiatives and actions take the team along for the happy employee engagement ride with them.

Culture is deprioritized

When the going gets tough, companies start treating culture like a nice-to-have - pushing it aside in favor of what they deem more important. I’ve actually had a COO not show up for a meeting because “culture was not a priority”. I didn’t work with this person much longer after that…because he didn’t COO well. Bye, culture-hater. ✌️

What game are we playing again?

Business priorities can change quicker than communicating them out to the team can keep up. You’ve just gotten everyone on board with plan A, but then BAM 💣…plan B-E incoming!

The biz strategy is un-informed

Strategy is dictated from on high with feedback from the teams actually driving towards the milestones. Insert eye rolls, resentment...and nausea.🤢

How to Sync Up

Avoiding the misalignment trap requires conscious effort, but the payoff is huge (think reduced turnover, higher engagement which begets higher client engagement, soaring revenue, world domination, etc.).

🎤 Have your Head of People in the room and their microphone on - people leaders should be involved upfront in setting the company's direction to ensure people initiatives are aligned from the start.

🔌 Re-educate on the power of culture - culture isn't just a process that's written or a weekly trivia game. It's a living, breathing, vibe influenced by everyone in the organization. Don't leave it to chance...there are plenty of examples of mega-companies that have fostered strong cultures and the impact it has had on their performance, innovation, and employee engagement (contact me if you need examples).

🖐️ It's a team effort - the leadership team sets the tone for culture. Managers have the biggest impact on employee engagement (don't just take my word for it, Gallup says so). It's time to talk seriously among the leadership team about the responsibility of fostering culture and engagement initiatives.

🔎 Visible priorities - now that we have responsibility identified, keep visible, easily understood priorities that everyone can rally behind.

📐Try your hand at key performance indicators - or whatever you want to call it. People strategies should have measures that indicate they are aligned with moving the needle for the company (and why).

🔁 Communicate…a lot - constantly reiterate the company's strategic lens across all employee communications and touchpoints.

🎢 Embrace an evolution culture - strategies evolve; when pivots happen, realign your people programs alongside the pivots instead of getting blindsided.

The bottom line? A little strategic synergy goes a long way toward a happy and engaged workforce all pulling in the same direction. No pixie dust is required. 🧚✨

And here’s to your good company vibes. 👊

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It’s a busy spring of speaking events and webinars for Marnie and Vibe HRC. We would love to see you at any of the following events. Oh, and make sure to stop by and say HI 👋!

SaaSOpen, March 28th, 2024, Austin Texas

“Navigating Change: People Strategies for Acquisitions”

Progressive HR Webinar, April 11th, 2024

“AI & HR: Part II of Revolutionizing Employee Communications in 2024” with the amazing Coreyne Woodman-Holoubek of Progressive HR & expert Troy Vermillion of Hylant. Sponsored by Dayforce & Hylant.

CenTex SHRM Annual Conference, April 18th, 2024, Killeen, TX

“AI Glow-up. AI-driven employee engagement without losing your vibe.”

Hacking HR April Series, April 22nd, 2024

“Employer Value Proposition Fundamentals: Crafting a Strategic EVP”

NTXSHRM Annual Conference, May 6th and 7th, 2024

“(Not) Like a Boss: Ditching the Conventional Management Culture”

Tag4HR Knowledge Byte Series, May 8th, 2024

“(Not) Like a Boss: Ditching the Conventional Management Culture”

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💖🎧🎵 I help companies with culture and people operations without stepping on their vibe.

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