Channel 4’s chief executive called on leaders to create ‘honest’ cultures to tackle the challenges of constant change in the workplace.
Speaking at the CIPD’s Festival of Work in London, Alex Mahon told the HR body’s chief executive Peter Cheese that one of the difficulties of being a leader today is that “things move faster, everything you do is more public”, and this means leaders and managers need to be more honest and open about their strategies.
This also means being open to hearing uncomfortable truths if the culture is not right, she added.
“We naturally want to hide from bad news but we need to challenge that. We need to ask employees to tell us bad news, it’s about how we ensure we know about things that in the old days we might have ignored,” she said.
“There is much more expectation on leaders to be authentic – a stronger desire from colleagues to know who leaders really are. But this can make leaders feel exposed.”
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At Channel 4, there has been a cultural shift since the pandemic when the broadcaster stepped up communications with employees.
Encouraging a “speak-up” culture has also been instrumental in ensuring it not only improves representation of diverse groups at work but also fosters a sense of inclusion, she added.
The broadcaster is in the process of finding ‘ambassadors’ whom employees can approach if they wish to call something out, similar to how they might approach a health or fire warden.
“We’re always on a journey towards an inclusive culture. I thought representation would ‘fix’ things and we’d be there, but I was wrong. We are allowing people to speak up and making sure they are listened to. But with that honesty has to come action, and that’s when you start to see cultural change.”
Dr Alex George, a mental health ambassador and TV doctor, also stressed the central role an inclusive culture plays in supporting the mental health of employees.
He said: “This needs to be a cultural shift rather than just offering a gym membership to someone who works in a highly stressful environment,” he said.
“If people know their purpose at work they will be happy with the ‘how’ they do it. It’s not that complex, it could be something as simple as allowing people access to nature during the course of their day.
“Workplace health legislation is very focused on physical health, yet the number one cause of death in people under 35 is suicide. There is no legislation around mental health provision at work.”
Dr Daniel Hulme, an AI entrepreneur and academic, urged delegates to see culture and talent as differentiators, rather than being overwhelmed by the range of AI tools on offer. “Technology has become a commodity,” he said. “If the leadership is not bought into it it will never work.”
He added that organisations needed to become more “liquid” to embrace the positive aspects of AI.
“You work out where the skills are and align people to work with their values, and with the values of the organisation. But that requires a more liquid organisation where people are freer to go where they want,” he said.
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