We show love by living our values.

Values statements are a lot easier to write than they are to bring to life — and that’s not to say they’re easy to write! To ensure that the culture you have in theory is the same as you have in practice, ask employees to reflect on your organization’s values and point out where you are, or are not, living them. The conversations are most effective when they’re structured by discussion guides, and when they extend all the way from onboarding to team meetings to leadership planning sessions.

We show it in how we behave.

Good things happen when you trust your people. Meeting-free days already have a proven positive impact on productivity and employee satisfaction, and they are just the tip of the autonomy iceberg. Flex & Stretch Days — set days where employees can pursue personal projects, learn and teach each other, host creative cross-departmental conversations or, if needed, catch up on work — take this “structured unstructured” time a step further. Leading companies like 3M and Google have long emphasized this sort of side project time, and leaders can make sure it happens as intended by carving out distinct days for it. Trust in employees to use their own time effectively is at the core of the idea, and by tailoring the details to meet your business’s specific contexts, you can promote both psychological safety and innovation in your culture.

We show it with symbols and routines.

Organizations with formal recognition programs have 31% lower voluntary turnover than those without them. A gratitude wall gives employees a chance to feel seen, and to recognize their peers. For partially remote organizations, interactive whiteboard technology can help represent the wall both digitally and physically.

We show it with our systems and processes.

Far too many organizations gather honest feedback from employees only through exit interviews. And by then, it’s too late. “Stay” interviews — in which managers ask current employees what they like about their jobs, what encourages them to stay and what would cause them to leave – give businesses a chance to be proactive. They have a proven impact on employee satisfaction and retention, in addition to helping promote candor within your culture.

We show it with the energy we carry and cultivate.

Every day, new studies demonstrate nature’s positive impacts on wellbeing and productivity. Investments in biophilic office design — i.e. integrating nature into the physical workplace — can go a long way towards making your offices more relaxing, creative, collaborative environments, even if the investment is as simple as more plants by windows. Leaders looking to better control the energy they exude can also greatly benefit from immersive learning experiences with animals and nature, like those we facilitate in our Equine Leadership Program .

And of course, we show it with our communication.

To feel loved, people need to feel heard. Engagement surveys are a solid start, but effectively listening to your people requires a multi-pronged approach. Listening tours are a strong strategy to bring into the fold. Whether in person or virtual, leaders can create space for employee perspectives in the form of human-to-human conversations. The right questions to ask will vary between businesses, but generally, asking employees whether their business’s strategy makes sense to them; whether they feel recognized and supported; and whether they understand what’s happening in their workplaces is a good place to start. These trips leave leaders with a deeply enriched view into the employee experience, and they leave employees — even those who don’t manage to speak with leaders directly — feeling more valued for the work they do.