Why Wellbeing Programs Fail Without Culture & Leadership: Dr. Rosie Ward

Host Barbara Zabawa welcomes Dr. Rosie Ward, CEO and founder of Salveo Partners and author of Future-Proofing Leadership and How to Build a Thriving Culture at Work, to discuss her “thriving organization” pyramid, which places 21st-century organizational design and leadership/culture as the foundation and wellbeing programs at the apex. Ward explains her shift from traditional worksite wellness after concluding many programs and ROI claims were ineffective or based on flawed data, and argues organizations often “program” their way out of deeper issues like poor management, lack of mattering, and weak accountability. They discuss how embedding wellbeing into culture and employee experience can improve sustainability and reduce legal risk, including an example where a client’s culture and leadership investments helped in a government legal case. Ward also addresses the Affordable Care Act’s role in boosting but narrowing wellness into incentives-driven “wellness or else.”

00:00 Welcome and Introductions
01:06 The Thriving Organization Pyramid
02:01 From Wellness to Leadership
04:24 Culture Beats Programs
06:29 Legal Risk Reduction Story
08:44 Conference Demand and First Book
11:19 Did the ACA Help Wellness
14:00 Mattering Courage and Culture
16:28 Why Organizations Hire Rosie
19:29 Where to Find Dr Rosie Ward
20:06 Closing Thanks and Goodbye

Learn more about Wellness Law at www.wellnesslaw.com.