- 'Inadequate attention' can hurt more than just the culture of a business but also it's profitability and sustainability, James said in the interview.
- New bosses should be especially concerned with maintaining a strong culture among employees, according to James.
It can be hard for leaders to align their goals with their employees' desired company culture, but one business expert says it's up to bosses to prevent any rifts they may cause in the office.
Erika James, dean at the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania, explained how a boss' focus on accomplishing new goals can derail a company's culture and ultimately affect its profitability in a $4
According to James, leaders should be paying attention to more than just the numbers.
"There are people in the world who pay more or less attention to the people that make up an organization," James said in the interview. "And when there is inadequate attention on the human capital, then I think you'll start to see rifts in the culture and you'll start to see some problems that make it difficult to achieve your ultimate goal, which is profitability, success and sustainability."
The threat of rifts in company culture is especially present when a new boss takes over, according to James. Those who aren't careful to learn more about the "core" of an organization can risk losing stability among employees.
A January survey from $4of American workers said they'd quit their job because of a "bad boss."
"If a new leader comes with something else and completely uproots what the prior leadership was focused on, then you're going to start to see sort of a challenge with stability in the culture," James said.
James became $4 in July 2020, and co-authored "The Prepared Leader: Emerge from Any Crisis More Resilient Than Before" with president of Simmons College in Boston Lynn Perry Wooten in September.
James emphasized the responsibility of leadership to maintain a healthy culture.
"It's the leaders' responsibility to ensure that in the context of his or her priorities, they're engaging in behaviors that are consistent with the desired culture," she said.