Remote is the new order of business. Leaders are being forced to create new company cultures on the fly as physical barriers between home and work vanish and previous back-burner issues, such as inclusion, have become critical calls to action.

“Inclusion is the most important ingredient to helping people thrive in difficult times,” said Deb Bubb (pictured), vice president, chief leadership, learning and inclusion officer at IBM. “It allows team members to quickly orient to new ways of being together.”

Bubb spoke with Dave Vellante, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. They discussed cultural strategies for successful leadership during the global pandemic and the post-COVID business world. (* Disclosure below.)

This week theCUBE spotlights Deb Bubb in its Women in Tech feature.

Culture and successful technological change

Digital transformation requires a cultural shift in workplace dynamics; and achieving this successfully requires a different solution set than that for automating repetitive processes or implementing a hybrid-cloud strategy.  This “people factor” is Bubb’s area of expertise.

While information technology is the field where Bubb has spent her entire career, her focus has been on the human beings that drive technological change rather than the technology itself. She holds a degree in psychology from Stanford University and a master’s in social work from Smith College.

After close to two decades at Intel Corp. working her way up the ladder to become a vice president and director of global leadership and learning, Bubb made a lateral move to IBM Corp. where she took charge as the company’s VP, chief leadership, learning and inclusion officer. One of her roles is to oversee the executive leadership succession, and she was instrumental in guiding incoming Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna as he took over for Ginni Rometty.

“None of us thought that we would be integrating Arvind and launching him into his new role as the CEO working from home,” she stated.

The challenge required the team to take a fresh perspective on IBM’s well-defined succession process, and led to Bubb defining a three-step approach to leadership in the context of managing a remote workforce while working remotely yourself.

Step one is establishing personal resilience. With leaders struggling with their own worries about families and health, it is important to make sure personal issues don’t interfere with work performance.

“Making sure we put our own oxygen mask on so we can think clearly and make the decisions was an important first step,” Bubb stated. “Taking a deep breath, thinking through what’s really happening to me, to my work, to my situation right now.”

Step two is to focus on empathy. Leaders need to understand the physical, emotional and mental health situation and needs of workers in order to make correct decisions about priorities, Bubb explained.

The needs of the business are the third and final step. “Then it’s time to focus on what’s mission critical, what’s urgent to compartmentalize and relentlessly prioritize so we can all be successful,” she added.

Leaders need to assess their digital awareness

With 350,000 employees spread across 173 countries, IBM’s core leadership team has an overview of the different ways the pandemic has affected business across the globe.

“The idea that everyone is going through this in the same way at the same time is just not accurate,” Bubb stated. What has been consistent is the need for a cohesive team that “connect with one another, learn from one another, and support each other through a very, very challenging experience,” she said.

Trying to do things the same as always via an online platform is a recipe for disaster, according to Bubb. “If I were going to give advice to any leader now, I would say it’s a good time to assess your digital presence and your digital savviness,” she said. “Have you really re-thought your digital presence, and are you really using that environment to create the maximum context of creativity and inclusion you can for your team?”

Inclusion is one of “IBM’s strongest assets right now,” Bubb stated.“Diversity is important to make sure you have the right people at the table, but inclusion is how you turn that talent into magic.”

IBM’s leaders are “stepping up and stepping in,” as they respond to the cultural changes demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bubb.

“[They are] finding ways to include, learn, take the best insight, and accelerate productivity and the right solutions in this challenging environment,” she said. “People are expecting their companies to provide a context that is psychologically safe, inclusive, and helps them do their best work when it matters most. Those are the companies that are going to emerge from this challenge stronger.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. Neither IBM, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE