The Forgotten Art of Asking

As 2021 progresses, business leaders have a nearly unprecedented opportunity to define new normal in the workspace. Bu, disruptive leadership during a time of upheaval offers its own unique challenge: how do you lead your employees toward change during change?

After nearly 30 years in different positions within USAA, the San Antonio-based financial services giant, Wayne Peacock took control of the helm as CEO on February 1, 2020—just 19 days before a global pandemic began systematically changing our world. Yet, even amidst this uncertain, and at times frightening, backdrop, 89% of USAA’s employees reported high job satisfaction in 2020. It begs the question: how? Looking closely at Peacock’s leadership during this pivotal year, an important trend emerges: he asked two simple questions, again and again:
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1. “What do you need right now?” – In early March, 2020, Peacock and his technology team successfully transitioned 98% of USAA’s workforce (over 30,000 people) to work from home. Immediately, Peacock issued a company-wide communication, asking a very important question: “What do you need right now?” Some responses he anticipated—faster internet connections, office equipment and supplies—and some responses caught him completely off guard. People were worried about food. Many of his employees now supported other family members who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and they worried about their ability to afford food for their families. Others lived with immunocompromised or elderly family members, and feared exposing them to the virus by shopping at grocery stores. Others, still, worried about their ability to fulfill their work obligations, help their now-homeschooled children with schoolwork, and still have time to prepare meals.
   
   Within a week, Peacock launched a pilot program at USAA’s company headquarters in San Antonio. Employees could place orders for same-day, curbside pickup of groceries (sold at cost) and prepared, family-style meals (sold at half-price). When the program met with success, he immediately expanded to regional campuses in Plano, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Colorado. To help with financial worry, Peacock issued $1,000 relief checks to each USAA employee, provided three weeks of emergency pay for COVID-19 related illness or childcare issues, and waived co-pays, deductibles and coinsurance for any COVID-19 related medical visit or treatment.
   
   
2.  “What could we do better?” – When Peacock set the plan in motion to create more than 30,000 instant telecommuters, he asked his HR team to create an online tool to provide employees a safe space to voice concerns about what wasn’t working. Overwhelmingly, employee comments centered around their lack of preparedness and training to do their jobs from remote locations. Working closely with leaders from each area of the company, Peacock enlisted subject experts to speak to employees in online meetings, and to create training manuals where they could learn the skills needed to feel confident in their new work situation. He worked with his tech teams to build online forums where employees could share information with one another, and he brought in leadership experts to help his managers struggling to lead their newly off-site team members.

When employee concerns turned from preparedness to connectedness, Peacock worked with the communications team to initiate a program dubbed the “watercooler,” designed to help leaders nurture the social connections within their teams. To lead by example, Peacock began dropping into different departmental meetings, asking questions about his employees’ lives, and sharing from his personal life, as well.

As we slowly move toward a post-pandemic reality, our priorities are shifting. The “come to us” way of doing business is giving way to a “go to them” mindset, and leaders who embrace this new approach with a human focused leadership style will be the ones successfully leading their teams in this new reality. The process, however, doesn’t have to be complicated. Ask simple questions: “What do you need? What can we do better?” and truly listen to the answers. “Lead from the front,” Peacock encourages. “Together, we can take care of each other, and do it better than anyone else.”
 
Are you looking for ways to lead your team during this time of unprecedented change? Let us share more leadership lessons from empowering leaders in an online workshop. You bring the team members, and we’ll create an immersive learning program, linking real-life examples with your individual workplace issues.

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