Does Your Organization’s Culture Live in People’s Heart—or in Their Stomach

Posted on

Share post

Having been a street performer doing magic and mind reading, Ben Whiting knows a thing or two about engaging an audience. And he can draw a straight line from that to how your organization engages its people.

"Culture doesn't exist on posters in our hallways or on the values page of our website. Culture is how do your people feel Sunday night knowing they have to go to work the next day. How are they feeling as they're logging on to Zoom? That feeling is where your culture lives," said Whiting. "It's going be in their heart, or it's going to be in their stomach. And we want to work really to make sure it's in their heart."

Organizational culture will be among Whiting's topics as the keynote speaker at Smarter Faster Payments Remote Connect, June 8-10. He said that when managers make decisions and communicate ideas, "I think it's important that we ask ourselves as leaders not just what idea are we trying to get across, but how do we want people to feel while we're getting that idea across, and making sure we're investing in things to do that." Whiting told Nacha's Payments SmartCast podcast that "a lot of times it's a simple as empathy," and that "just being aware of people's feelings and letting them know you're thinking about it can do leaps and bounds in terms of improving culture."

Whiting also stressed the need for organizations to consider their culture, rather than brushing it aside.

"If we want people that can show up engaged, self-motivated, if we want them to be not just happy but fulfilled about where they work, we have to think about culture," said Whiting. "If we're not investing into our cultures, we're not going to be able to get the most out of our people or serve humanity at large."

Whiting said he enjoyed his decades as a performer, "but I just wanted to have more of an impact. I realized that I was more passionate about helping people than entertaining them." Nevertheless, he promises some highlights from his earlier career during Remote Connect. "Of course, we'll always throw some magic and mind reading in there to keep it fun and relevant."

Much more was discussed, and you can listen to the complete podcast below.

For details on Smarter Faster Payments Remote Connect, visit the conference website.