Creating Change from the Inside-Out

"You may have heard the phrase that people are an organization's greatest asset. As a human resource director for many years, that philosophy guided my professional decisions. But after 14 years as a Chief People Officer, I see things a little differently. I've learned that it's not only the people who determine an organization's performance, it's what happens between people that makes the greatest impact on effectiveness. Your organization's ability to achieve sustained superior performance depends on the nature of the relationships inside it: how well people work together, how respectfully they treat one another, how carefully they listen to customers and suppliers, and how leaders model the type of behavior that attracts, retains and develops the best talent. In the end, it's the collective behavior within an organization's culture—how most people act most of the time—that is an organization's greatest competitive advantage."