Intro: [00:00:02] Broadcasting live from SHRM 2022 at the New Orleans Convention Center, it’s time for Workplace MVP. Brought to you by R3 Continuum, a global leader in helping workplaces thrive during disruptive times. Now, here’s your host.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:00:19] Hey, everyone. You’re host, Jamie Gassmann here, at the SHRM 2022 Exhibit Hall. And I am in our show sponsor, R3 Continuum’s booth. And joining me is Greg Hawks.

Greg Hawks: [00:00:31] Yes, I am.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:00:32] Welcome, Greg.

Greg Hawks: [00:00:32] It is a pleasure to be here. I love your booth set up. The colors are fabulous. Location is delightful. People are all over the place. Thanks for letting me sit down.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:00:40] Yeah. Well, I’m glad you sat down. And I love your energy.

Greg Hawks: [00:00:44] Thank you so much.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:00:44] And thank you for the compliment on the booth. You worked so hard to design those, so I appreciate that.

Greg Hawks: [00:00:49] Absolutely. It’s a great color. It really is.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:00:50] Yes. Yes. It’s inviting.

Greg Hawks: [00:00:52] It’s distinct. And I love green, but it’s like a teal but it’s a little minty. It’s a lovely minty flavor. Yes, indeed.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:01:02] So, I’m really excited you sat down. So, I know you own your own agency.

Greg Hawks: [00:01:06] I do.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:01:06] So, tell us a little bit about what your agency does and what you do for HR Leaders.

Greg Hawks: [00:01:11] Well, for HR Leaders, we work in culture. That’s what we do. So, we have three, I’ve got myself and two other folks, on our team that are culture specialists. So, we do a lot of speaking. So, I do a lot of keynote speaking at organization events, at HR conferences, state conferences around the nation. And then, we serve some consultancy around how they’re shaping an ownership culture.

Greg Hawks: [00:01:31] So, our mission is shaping environments where everyone gets to contribute their best daily. So, we’re really focused on this idea of how do we cause people to get better every day. And so, that’s the way kind of metrics are best, how are you the best version of you. That’s what people talk about. I’m like, “Today is it, baby.” You don’t get any better than this because today is last year’s future. And so, everybody’s like, “I’ve got this idea of what I’m going to be.” And so, we really work with leaders and teams on really shaping the environments where people can bring their best daily.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:02:00] Yeah. And I got to imagine, with the change in work environments across the country, where you’ve got a hybrid or you’ve got full remote work or they’re bringing people back and there’s that hesitation, talk to me about how has culture evolved in organizations?

Greg Hawks: [00:02:18] Here’s what I have found with culture and organizations that immediately shifted to the remote workforce that didn’t have it before, is that, in that initial season, it magnified who they already were. So, the organization had cultures that were literally people first. You know, the language that people use about we respect our people, we care for our people, COVID magnified it.

Greg Hawks: [00:02:41] So, I’ve got a client in Atlanta, they sent everybody home, and immediately they replicated their desk environment at home, in both places, and they said, “Whenever we come back, you’ll have your stuff here, and you’ll have your stuff there, and we’ll just work, whatever.” They just immediately. Whereas, other people were, like, stingy or they just didn’t care. They just didn’t have it in their culture that they really did respond to challenges that kept their people first, if you will.

Greg Hawks: [00:03:10] And so, in the initial season, I’d say the first year or so, it really magnified it. Now, we’ve been through the transformation of it, what we see is people who really value innovation and the thoughtfulness of always keeping their people first is how they’re structuring their conversations.

Greg Hawks: [00:03:26] Because culture isn’t within a building anyhow. When people think of culture not in a workplace, they think of Paris, they think of New York City, they think of Minneapolis. Every location has a culture and it’s not based on what happens inside of a building. It’s based on the traditions, and the communication, and the look. There’s so many elements that create culture for a people group. And so, just because people are distributed, it doesn’t make it more difficult if those values are entrenched in the hearts and minds of people.

Greg Hawks: [00:03:58] And so, the challenge leaders are having is they’re so used to having a physical structure to fashion that in. That now being mindful of, whether we’re Zooming or we’re just having phone calls more or everybody’s just distributed and we’re no longer hiring in a geographical location, all over the nation is now our place, and people don’t have to move, it’s how do we instill our heart, how do we instill our way of thinking, how do we instill the way we communicate. Because those things aren’t contained in a building, but they really reflect a lot about who we are as an organization. I mean, really the values that we have.

Greg Hawks: [00:04:36] So, for me, the remote world has really magnified if people really align with their values. It’s really exposed what the culture is because you can’t lie about it. We see how people are as a collective in our teams or organizations in these companies. And it’s just not as well hidden when everybody comes together and they got the words on the wall and this is what we’re about, but didn’t really have to play it out every day.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:05:02] So, with that, exposure to the true identity or the true culture of the organization, do you think that for some that’s contributed to that Great Resignation or that great reshuffle that we’ve experienced over the last year?

Greg Hawks: [00:05:15] I’ve got a friend, Ben, who calls it the great reprioritization. He’s like, “It doesn’t flow well,” but it is that.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:05:21] Yeah. I keep hearing different names.

Greg Hawks: [00:05:22] I know. I mean, resignation is the one that got it because that was the actual activity. I absolutely think so, you know, there’s a combination because people recognized that they weren’t as cared for as maybe they thought they were. And they also recognized, “I want to give my life every day in an organization and a place with people that my own personal values align with.” And so, I would definitely say it’s exposure. People don’t talk about it in that language, but that what was exposed on who the company really is, what values really mattered.

Greg Hawks: [00:05:56] Because as people and as teams, because we’re made of people, we act out of our beliefs. Like, however anybody is acting, it’s because there’s a belief structure within their own internal value system. And so, that plays out true in an organization. And so, when that was revealed and keeps being revealed, honestly, it was a collective courageousness that was like, “I just don’t want to do this anymore in life.”

Greg Hawks: [00:06:17] So, that’s my thought on it. The exposure definitely did give people a sense of at least the playing field level on how people really think about me here. And then, What do I want to do with that? What’s acceptable to me? What’s not acceptable to me?

Jamie Gassmann: [00:06:31] Yeah. And I know you presented here at SHRM. I heard your presentation was amazing.

Greg Hawks: [00:06:36] It was fabulous this morning. So much fun. Thanks for saying that.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:06:38] You know, they got me chained in the booth here talking about work culture, right? I’ve got lots of things to do. But, no, I heard your presentation went really, really well. Talk to us about what you presented on.

Greg Hawks: [00:06:50] I did my ownership culture message because I’ve owned single family properties, so I do this idea of kind of a comparison. Because people, as you know, they’re like, “We need people to buy in around here. We just need you to own it.” And it’s a very subjective idea. And I own single family properties, and so I talk about how renters perceive living in a home and how owners perceive it differently. And so, I’ve got these five attributes what an ownership spirit looks like, whether it’s around commitment, or increasing value, or reach for responsibilities, or being inclusive, and then valuing the whole house.

Greg Hawks: [00:07:24] And so, I give HR professionals, and really leaders and organizations, some clarity on if you want people to buy in, then be very specific about what that entails. And if you create a place, you shape the culture, you shape this environment where people can bring their best daily around what commitment looks like. Because here’s what you find, people want to do a good job at work. People are fulfilled when they feel like they’re succeeding. And when they don’t feel like that, it’s as much to do with the environment that they’re doing it in, the leadership that’s leading, and then their own sense of ability to do it.

Greg Hawks: [00:08:00] And, oftentimes, it seems to reflect so much on the individual instead of the culture that they’re in. And so, I’ll talk about contribution, because one of the characteristics is people who have an ownership spirit want to contribute. And yet, oftentimes, we create an environment where we say, “We don’t want to hear that. No, no, no.” You know want to say they’ll crush your spirit. Then, you go in, start out really eager and really excited, and then they just, like, squash your spirit. And they’re like, “Fine. I’m not going to share anything more.”

Greg Hawks: [00:08:26] And so, all of a sudden, they want people to give their best, but their environment actually produces renters in the workplace instead of people with the spirit of ownership. And so, that was a little bit where I talked about. I love this message. It’s a good language for people. Everybody who’s owned or rented understands that. And it just really gives a construct for organizations to think about what they’re inviting their employees to bring and what that can look like in an organization.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:08:51] Yeah. It sounds like there’s some interesting kind of new approaches of thinking about that environment.

Greg Hawks: [00:08:56] Absolutely.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:08:57] So, if there was one or two key takeaways that you wanted that audience to leave with, what would they be?

Greg Hawks: [00:09:04] There are several key takeaways, but one of my favorite things, because I talk about increasing value, and oftentimes people will say, “Well, I don’t have access to a budget. I’m not in charge of anybody.” And so, the offering is, the way you increase value is through encouragement that you can use free words to become more valuable and to cause others to feel valuable.

Greg Hawks: [00:09:26] And so, I’ll interact with somebody in the audience and I’ll say really positive, specific things to them, and appreciate them in a way. And I don’t know them, but I can assume I get to know them a little bit what they’re doing, and I’ll just say to them. And one of the takeaways is, people like people who like them. So, I’ll say it again because some people don’t understand that, people like people who like them. So, I’m always an advantage. Jamie, I like you. I start out liking you before I know you, not based on who you are, but based on who I am.

Greg Hawks: [00:09:54] And most leaders, most people go, “I’m going to get to know you. I’m going to see what you’re like. I’m gonna figure you out. And then, I don’t know if I’ll like you or not.” And what that does is, you’re going to be more different than me than like me. And differences create distance.

Greg Hawks: [00:10:05] But if I start out saying, “I like you.” I’ll start from the place of I already give that to us in a relationship, it creates this reciprocity that really engages people. And it’s not so that you have people like each other. It’s so that trust is accelerated. Because once we trust each other, then we can have really meaningful conversations and we get right to the heart of things that oftentimes people dance around, even because they just have personality differences and they don’t have the capacity within themselves to go, “I choose to like you based on me, not based on you. Because of that, we’re going to grow a better relationship.” So, that’s one that increase my value and your value in an organization.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:10:41] Yeah. I love that. I actually felt that. And you’re like, “I like you.” I’m like, “Oh. I like you too.”

Greg Hawks: [00:10:46] That’s exactly what happens.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:10:48] You instantly feel that.

Greg Hawks: [00:10:50] You instantly feel that. And it’s transformational. And, literally, just those words, when you say that to somebody, all the guard drops. It’s this weird connection thing that happens. Just what happened here.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:01] It’s like a human connection.

Greg Hawks: [00:11:02] It’s, literally, the best of the human connection.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:04] It’s like you have been accepted. It’s different.

Greg Hawks: [00:11:05] Yes. And you can start that out. Because most people are like, “Let me get a feel for you. Let me get to know you a little bit.”

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:11] You have one opportunity.

Greg Hawks: [00:11:12] And it’s all a defensive position. And when I start out liking you, I’m on the offense. I’m intentionally going to build rapport with you so we can really deal with things that need to be dealt with. And so many leaders don’t do that.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:24] I love that. You’re setting them up to bring their best selves to work because they can bring themselves to work.

Greg Hawks: [00:11:28] Yes. Exactly.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:30] That’s so cool. How powerful.

Greg Hawks: [00:11:31] It’s potent. Yeah, it really is.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:33] So, if anybody wanted to learn more from you, or just kind of get a little bit more information, or explore your agency –

Greg Hawks: [00:11:40] Come on. That would be just fabulous. I wish they would do that.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:43] … how do they get a hold of you?

Greg Hawks: [00:11:44] They can go to hawksagency.com, H-A-W-K-Sagency.com. It has all the information. It has our little team on there. It has video. All kinds of great resources on there. It’s just a great website. So, hawksagency.com. Thank you.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:11:58] Fascinating. Well, thank you so much for joining us.

Greg Hawks: [00:12:00] My pleasure.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:12:00] It’s been an absolute pleasure to have you on the show.

Greg Hawks: [00:12:03] Good, good, good. I hope people benefit from it. Let me know how I can help you guys.

Jamie Gassmann: [00:12:07] Perfect. Thank you.

Greg Hawks: [00:12:07] Okay. Thank you.

Outro: [00:12:12] Thank you for joining us on Workplace MVP. R3 Continuum is a proud sponsor of this show, and is delighted to celebrate most valuable professionals who work diligently to secure safe workplaces where employees can thrive.