Are You Solving the Right Problem?

What happens when you sit down with one of the top leaders from McKinsey & Company and talk honestly about workplace wellbeing?

You get the kind of conversation we need more of and one that dives beneath the surface and asks the question: Are we solving for the right problem?

In my recent LinkedIn Live conversation with Gary Pinkus, the former Chairman of McKinsey North America and someone I’m proud to call a classmate, we explored what it really means to lead with wellbeing in mind. Not as a nice-to-have. But as a must-have.

Here are 3 big takeaways every leader and manager should sit with:

1. Fix the water, not just the fish.

We often default to individual solutions, meditation apps, resilience training, productivity hacks. But as Gary put it: If the system itself is broken, no amount of individual effort will make a difference.

“Are we putting people into environments that are suboptimal for wellbeing and then asking them to ‘optimize’ with a set of tools? That’s setting people up for failure.”

It’s time to shift our focus upstream. Leaders must ask: What culture are we creating? What norms are we reinforcing? What pressures are we tolerating?

2. Wellbeing starts with aligned expectations.

Gary introduced the concept of the social contract, which is an unspoken agreement between employer and employee.

“Wellbeing is like happiness. It’s the delta between what you expect and what you get.”

Misalignment between what leaders promise and what employees experience is a recipe for burnout. If your social contract says “flexible work,” but your culture says “always on,” you’re not building wellbeing—you’re breeding discontent.

3. Toxicity isn’t about being demanding, it’s about being demeaning.

One of the most powerful segments of our conversation was when Gary shared McKinsey’s approach to rooting out toxic behavior:

• 360 reviews for all levels, including behavior-based feedback

• Clear consequences for behavior that violates standards of respect and inclusion

• An explicit culture of “obligation to dissent,” encouraging all team members to speak up, even the most junior employees. 

“You can be direct and demanding without being toxic. The moment behavior becomes demeaning, it’s a red line.”

As leaders, our job isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to create environments where people feel safe, valued, and heard—and where the culture itself supports wellbeing.

Final thought from Gary:

A huge thanks to Gary Pinkus for bringing not just insight, but honesty, humility, and humanity to this conversation.

Up Next Month:  Why Are We Here? With Jennifer Moss

Why are we here (widespread unhealthy cultures), and how do we move forward (rebuilding the place we call “work”)? 

Meet the brilliant Jennifer Moss, workplace culture expert, award-winning journalist, and bestselling author - our featured LinkedIn Live guest in June. This conversation will kick off the Wellbeing at Work LinkedIn Live Series, a partnership with the Workplace Wellbeing Initiative of the Global Wellness Institute Wellbeing Initiative of the Global Wellness Institute.

Jen’s latest book, “Why Are We Here?,” poses the question that has become impossible to ignore: Why is the modern workplace so unhealthy and what can we do about it? Join us on June 11th at 11 AM PT. RSVP, here.

ABOUT LAURA

Laura Putnam, CEO of Motion Infusion & Author of Workplace Wellness That Works, is on a mission to leverage every workplace and every team to promote better health, happiness, and wellbeing. Subscribe to Laura’s newsletter to get 4 tangible ideas each month to infuse wellbeing at work and at home.