Cory Gunderson of Protiviti: Five Things Business Leaders Can Do To Create A Fantastic Work Culture
Be authentic and human — It’s important to be authentic and human, now more so than ever. For the last two years, we’ve been looking into co-worker’s home offices, living rooms, kitchens, backyards — helping us see each other as human. This shift to remote and hybrid work has changed the way we interact and required us to “up the humanity” in how we engage with one another. We’re missing the in-person relationship building at the office, yet we’ve also gained a greater understanding and appreciation of our colleagues now that we’ve met their kids or pets or friends via virtual meetings. It’s critical for leaders to be accessible, visible, and authentic in any interaction. We are in unprecedented times and it’s ok in my book to say, “great question, we don’t have that answer but will work hard on it and come back to you.” And then do the follow-up work.
As a part of my series about about how leaders can create a “fantastic work culture”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cory Gunderson, Executive Vice President of Global Solutions at Protiviti.
Cory Gunderson is executive vice president of global solutions at Protiviti. In this role, Cory oversees and coordinates the firm’s range of consulting practices, including digital transformation, technology consulting, risk and compliance, internal audit and financial advisory, legal consulting, business performance improvement, and managed solutions. Cory also oversees the firm’s innovation efforts including its global innovation program and its strategic planning efforts involving innovation. With more than 30 years of experience advising clients, Cory has developed an expertise that focuses on the risk management and compliance spectrum, with a specific emphasis on financial services organizations.
Based on your experience or research, how do you think an unhappy workforce will impact a) company productivity b) company profitability c) and employee health and wellbeing?
Happiness is the precursor to success. Research shows you need to be happy first and then the outcomes will arrive. For an employee/employer relationship, it is incumbent on the employer to help create an environment that enables and nurtures happiness. Everything else, such as productivity, profitability, healthy culture, will come after if employees are happy and feel valued.
This all starts with culture. Think of culture as what happens when people aren’t looking, the daily moments of truth that you have in an organization. We must examine the behaviors, attitudes, and actions of leadership, managers, and supervisors. Combining those actions and other factors with the tone set by the organization fosters culture. Having a strong culture that values the employee and demonstrates it values employees, is a key part in driving happiness.
We are in a situation today with the great resignation/reshuffling where people have arguably more alternatives than ever. They are not limited by their locality/geography or skillset. Companies are willing to train employees on new skillsets, some are allowing them the freedom to choose where they live and work — even if that means remotely. This makes happiness, and thus culture, a more important differentiator than ever.
Happiness is a direct driver of retention and motivation. Motivation influences productivity, a direct driver on profitability. This makes employee happiness one of the foundational underpinnings of business and yet most leaders don’t generally go around saying “let’s make people happier.” You can’t just decide one day to make employees happier; it must be authentic, and it comes from the policies, practices and tone set at the top.
Can you share 5 things that managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture? Can you give a personal story or example for each?
As a leader, manager, or supervisor, you must foster an environment of trust. Our vision is to be the most trusted global consulting firm. We view internal and external trust as equally important; we want our clients to trust us as their advisor, and we also want our employees to trust our organization, leadership, and each other. Employees who trust their companies often provide better client service and act as company promoters because they feel deeper satisfaction and connection. We are a people-based business, so this is especially paramount. Leaders can foster this type of environment by focusing on the following areas of culture:
Be authentic and human
It’s important to be authentic and human, now more so than ever. For the last two years, we’ve been looking into co-worker’s home offices, living rooms, kitchens, backyards — helping us see each other as human. This shift to remote and hybrid work has changed the way we interact and required us to “up the humanity” in how we engage with one another. We’re missing the in-person relationship building at the office, yet we’ve also gained a greater understanding and appreciation of our colleagues now that we’ve met their kids or pets or friends via virtual meetings. It’s critical for leaders to be accessible, visible, and authentic in any interaction. We are in unprecedented times and it’s ok in my book to say, “great question, we don’t have that answer but will work hard on it and come back to you.” And then do the follow-up work.
Influence innovation
Innovation is a hedge against disruption, so it is critical for work culture and structures to proactively foster it across the organization. As a leader, you must constantly challenge the status quo. At Protiviti, we made innovation one of our three company values. We have found there is a direct correlation between being involved in innovation and the employee feeling Protiviti is a great place to work. We enable that involvement in many ways. As a few examples, we have iNNs (innovation sites), our in-house incubators, to accelerate and enable innovation for our clients and the firm. Hundreds of team members have participated since 2019. We have also cross trained all of our employees across function and seniority level in design thinking to give every person, no matter their role or where they are in the world, access to a common language around innovation.
Encourage failure as a stepping-stone to success
Failure is key to fostering an innovation mindset. Leaders must let the organization know that failure is not only okay but is a necessity to try new things. Testing innovative ideas won’t always be successful and if employees are penalized for being bold and trying new things, they won’t do it anymore. When someone tries something that doesn’t work but gets recognized for trying and is told “bravo,” they will likely keep finding ways to be innovative and encourage others to do the same.
Celebrate differences
Each employee has different goals and needs that motivate them. You must foster the environment to motivate and recognize different types of people and goals, whether it’s compensation, professional development, meaningful work, being a part of a community, or something else entirely. Leaders must commit to creating an inclusive environment, leveraging structures such as our Employee Network Groups (at Protiviti, we have 11 of these and counting) that reminds people of all backgrounds, races, gender, and neurodiversity that they are welcomed and allows them to see a path for growth within the company.
Listen to employees
Listening to employee feedback needs to be an ongoing process. We have implemented a global, on-demand platform called IdeaSwell, which gives employees from around the world the ability to post an idea to a central location at any time. Anyone within the company can add to the idea, allowing it to grow through crowdsourcing and support from a community of people. We then have a process to make sure ideas get reviewed and vetted by management. This allows Protiviti to hear ideas and employee voices that we may not have otherwise captured and gives people a safe place to share ideas. It also allows global knowledge to influence innovation and vice-versa.
It’s very nice to suggest ideas, but it seems like we have to “change the culture regarding work culture.” What can we do as a society to make a broader change in the US workforce’s work culture?
Historically, work, and personal life boundaries were much more distinct. They were thought of as separate worlds, but in reality, they weren’t at all. You go to work with things in your head from your personal life and go home with things in your head about work. You can’t dice up a person’s life into compartments. Businesses need to recognize that work is part of life and vice versa.
Lines have been further blurred for many by working in our living spaces for the last two years. It’s positive in some ways and challenging in others. We’ve seen the dramatic shifts that workplaces can experience over the last two years, and we can only be certain that more change is coming. That’s why it’s important to innovate, be authentic, lead with integrity, and be inclusive when you have employees or clients who want to be in-person, hybrid or remote. These aspects are key to building a culture, business, and even community and evolve so employees can attain a sense of happiness both at work and in their personal lives.
How would you describe your leadership or management style? Can you give us a few examples?
I hope others would describe my leadership style as being real, authentic, and accessible. I’m very invested in the professional development of my colleagues. It’s also important to know that we can all learn from each other — if we pay attention, we can watch our colleagues or really anyone in the organization and pick up tips and techniques that make us better.
People want to know where they stand and what they need to do to be successful and to do that yourself and encourage that of others, you must be accessible and authentic. Sometimes it means having challenging conversations, but I believe the best avenue to growth is through honesty and being direct. There are countless situations where these direct discussions have taken place, from a coaching and improvement perspective, and the individual has gone on to have an amazing career. There is a huge difference in saying “here is what was wrong” vs. “here is what can be improved.” I’ve learned that bringing a sense of humility to all situations is essential to being an effective leader. I recently pre-emptively shared some information earlier than planned on a global town hall attended by thousands of our people. When I sent an email out later that day to the entire firm, I started with “We’ve talked about failing fast as an organization and I’m happy to say I’ve done my best to fail in front of all of you today when I gave incorrect information…” We’re human. Own the mistake! As a leader, how you react to situations can have a chain effect on others. If you are calm, listen and facilitate paths forward you will be a stronger, better leader.
Above all, you must have integrity. As leaders, we must practice what we preach and must hold people accountable for goals, while being receptive to and understanding of reality and appropriately adjusting those goals as circumstances warrant.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many people that help you to get to where you are — parents, friends, teachers, coworkers, spouses, partners. A few people come to mind for myself. My wife has had a tremendous influence on me. She is one of the kindest, most open, loving, and caring people on the planet. Most people agree she is the better Gunderson when they meet her. She taught me serenity and about what is important in life.
One person in my professional life is Patrick (Pat) Scott, EVP of Global Industry and Client Programs and Marketing at Protiviti. He has been a tremendous mentor and advisor. Pat has taught me perspective through his calming demeanor and has also been a great listener and friend to me over the years. He also taught me the importance of guiding people to the answer instead of simply telling them.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
We have built a multi-billion-dollar business which has led to a lot of good. This has created jobs, career growth opportunities, given our people the ability to provide for their family and friends. A lot of what we do as a firm helps organizations do the right thing whether it’s their controls, regulatory compliance or efficiencies that help them grow. We’re also committed to giving back to our communities and our people are deeply engaged in efforts like combatting hunger and implementing sustainable green initiatives that help the world be a better place.
On a more personal note, I feel it is also important to help develop the next generation of talent as a way of giving back. A stewardship perspective is important in a leader, and they need to also embrace the responsibility for the career development of junior colleagues. If in 10–15 years from now I see the people I have had some part in developing and mentoring serving as successful leaders, I will be very happy.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Life is not linear.” This saying has always held true for me. I used to think that I could plan out my life 5–10–20 years ahead. My wife and I very unexpectedly lost a child some time ago and if it wasn’t for the partner I worked very closely with at the time, my mentors, and the organization I would not be here doing what I am doing today.
This experience and many others have taught me that life will always throw you curveballs. Having support in the workplace can make it easier to overcome these tough moments. Career equity was crucial at that moment. Investing in and building trust with your employer builds this equity. This process takes time. It’s often overlooked in a society where mobility is easy, and gratification can be instant. But life has unexpected timelines and curveballs and having career equity makes those moments easier to overcome.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you continued success!
