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Zach Mercurio is a researcher who specializes in purposeful leadership, mattering, meaningful work, and positive organizational psychology. He works with hundreds of organizations worldwide, and some of his clients include the U.S. Army, USA Wrestling, J.P. Morgan, Delta Air Lines, Marriott International, the government of Canada, and the National Park Service. He also serves as one of motivational speaker, author, and business consultant Simon Sineks optimist instructors. Whats the big idea? When we think about what makes an impressive leader, we often color it in terms like inspiring, courageous, or even heroic. But research shows that, when asked about great leaders in their own lives, people dont talk about grand actions or noble qualities. More likely than not, people point out small interactionsmomentswhen a leader helped them feel seen or heard, illuminated gifts they didnt know they had, or provided affirmation. Psychologists call this sense of significance mattering, and the best leaders have trained in and practice the skill of showing people their value. Below, Zach shares five key insights from his new book, The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance. Listen to the audio versionread by Zach himselfin the Next Big Idea App. 1. Were facing a mattering deficit. Let me take you back 10 years to a hospital room. I was meeting my newborn son. I remember looking down at this tiny crying human, and he tilted his head, locked eyes with mine, and reached his arms out frantically. When I reached back, he gripped my index finger and wouldnt let go. His crying stopped, and his whole body calmed. I was experiencing 6 million years of fine-tuned programming. Scientists call that grip I felt the grasp reflexan automatic action we take to secure our first caring relationship. From your first breath, survival depended on mattering to someone. None of us would be listening to or reading this if, at some point, we hadnt mattered enough to someone so theyd keep us alive. As we grow up and go to work, the survival instinct to matter evolves into the psychological need to feel seen, heard, valued, and needed. When this need is met, we experience mattering. Mattering is distinct from belonging or inclusion. Belonging is feeling part of and connected to a group. Inclusion is being able to contribute to a group. Mattering is knowing youre significant to individual members of that group. When we experience mattering, we flourish. Were more motivated and grittier and experience greater well-being. But when we feel that we dont matter, we languish and either act out in desperation or withdraw. Imagine the absolute panic of a child reaching out and finding no one. In a way, thats whats happening today. Too many of us are experiencing the same stress of feeling insignificant. In January 2025, Gallup reported that employee engagement is at a 10-year low. If we were an organization, seven out of 10 of us would be emotionally uninvested in our work. Thats despite services to improve engagement becoming a $1 billion industry. The average adult sends 30 to 40 text-based messages daily and spends more time in meetings than everyet were still lonely. So, whats going on? Two data points stand out: Just four out of every 10 employees in the Gallup sample group felt that someone at work cares about them as a person, and only 30% believe their potential is invested in. Last year, a different poll showed that 30% of people felt invisible at work, and repeated surveys reveal that six out of 10 people feel underappreciated. Were not facing a disengagement crisis. Were facing a mattering deficit. The most glaring symptom of this deficit is loneliness. The advice to solve this has been to connect more. The result has been that were in more meetings and on more platforms. The average adult sends 30 to 40 text-based messages daily and spends more time in meetings than everyet were still lonely. Research shows that the quantity of interactions doesnt matter much when it comes to reducing loneliness. The quality does. To have a quality interaction, people need to experience what researchers call companionate lovereceiving the interpersonal behaviors of attention, respect, and affirmation. The opposite of loneliness isnt having more people around you; its feeling like you matter to the people around you. Thats why just putting down our phones wont reduce disconnection; what we do after we put down our phones will. The solution isnt to connect more; its to relearn the skills to connect better by showing people they matter to us. 2. Mattering happens in moments. Think about when you most feel that you matter to others. How many of you are thinking about getting your direct deposit, or when you won Employee of the Month? If youre like most people we posed this question to, youre thinking about small interactions. Mattering happens in moments. Jane is a custodian at the university where I do research. She was part of a study we did on how frontline service workers experience meaning. She told me she only took the job because she was nearly homeless and needed to put food on the table. Her friends kept telling her cleaning was a dirty job, and she started internalizing that. She told me that during her first month, she would clock in, clock out, and continually think: Why couldnt I have done something more with my life? She said, I felt useless and worthless. But then, she described to me how a couple of minutes changed everything. A supervisor noticed she was struggling. He invited her into a training room, handed her a dictionary, and asked her to read the definition of custodian: A person responsible for looking after a building and everyone in it. Thats you, he told her. She looked at me and said, That was the first time in my life someone made me feel worthy and important. Realizing she was responsible for a building and its people changed her beliefs about herself and her job. Shes been there for 18 years. Thats the power of a moment of mattering. The best leaders tend to turn regular interactions into moments of mattering. 3. Theres a difference between knowing someone and noticing them. Theres a difference between knowing someone and noticing them. You can know your best friend but not notice that theyre struggling. You can know a team member but not notice that they feel unheard. Janes supervisor noticed she was struggling and took action. Noticing is the deliberate act of paying attention to the details, ebbs, and flows of others lives and offering an action to show them were thinking of them. Noticing takes time, attention, and practice. You can know a team member but not notice that they feel unheard. In one distribution ceter where I worked, there were 20 teams that all scored low on employee engagement surveys, with one extreme outlier that consistently showed high engagement. When I met with that team, they all told me some version of: Its our supervisor. She just gets us. Wed do anything for her. So, I asked her what she did. She pulled out a black Moleskine notebook. Every Friday, she wrote down one thing she noticed about each team membernerves about a meeting, a struggle on a task, a child starting a new sport. Then on Monday, she reviewed her notes and scheduled micro-check-ins, starting with, I remember last week. She said to me, You know, Zach, theres magic in being remembered. Weve come to call it her noticing notebook. She also asked her team two questions every week: What would you do if you were me? and What are you struggling with, and how can I help? Leaders who are great noticers tend to do these three things: They have a process and practice for observing the details of peoples work and lives. They note those details, which is a powerful way to retrain our attention. They share back what they observed. Noticing others creates understanding and understanding creates trust. 4. Affirmation can be more powerful than appreciation or recognition. When Janes supervisor defined custodian, he provided her with indisputable evidence of her significance. Thats what makes affirmation different and more powerful than appreciation or recognition. Appreciation is a form of gratitude for who someone is. Recognition is a form of gratitude for what someone does. Affirmation reveals how someones uniqueness makes a unique difference. One way to affirm someone is to give more meaningful gratitude. Any time you say, Thank you or Good job, go one step further and show people the difference they make and exactly how they make it. First, name peoples unique gifts. Everyone offers us four unique gifts every day: Strengths: what they love and theyre good atPurpose: the impact they makePerspective: how they see the worldWisdom: what only they can teach us from living their life Second, show them vividly the unique impact they make. For example, a facilities manager I worked with at the National Park Service would take photos of park visitors using projects his team worked on. He had a process of emailing them every Friday and attaching the pictures. He simply wrote: Look what you did. Thank you. He gave them indisputable evidence of their significance. 5. When people feel replaceable, they will act replaceable. To feel that we matter, we must feel needed. In 1913, the French agricultural engineer Max Ringelmann had groups of students pull on a rope as hard as possible. The rope was attached to a device called a dynamometer to measure force. Then, he had the same students pull the rope as hard as they could as individuals. He added up the force readings. Who do you think exerted the most total force: groups or individuals? It was the individuals. Why? Because they knew they and their effort were indispensable. To feel that we matter, we must feel needed. When people feel replaceable, they act replaceable. But when people feel irreplaceable, they tend to act irreplaceable. When I interviewed people and asked them when they most felt that they mattered, people frequently mentioned some version of these five words being said to them: If it wasnt for you Think of someone you rely on. Now think of the last time youve told them, If it wasnt for you If you say these words to them, youll see and feel the power of mattering, and youll be putting into practice a skill that sets great leaders apart from the rest: showing people how they matter. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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Caregiving is often viewed as a personal duty separate from our professional lives, instead of another layer of that life, one that can strengthen and improve how we live. Caregiving has strengthened my skills rather than detracted from my role in the C-suite, providing a masterclass in how to lead. Caregiving is core to my success on my corporate leadership path. It doesnt exist on the sidelines of my career but has played a significant role in my growth. In every aspect of my life, from being global inclusion officer at Ogilvy and cofounder of several ventures, to motherhood, marriage, and even hosting my podcast, I lead in spaces that demand empathy and strategy. The lessons learned from sleepless nights, navigating healthcare decisions, and balancing emotional labor alongside executive duties have been instrumental in shaping the way I lead. Its taught me resilience in times of uncertainty, adaptability in rapidly changing environments, and a deepened sense of empathy that transcends into the workplace. Ill never forget the day we discovered my daughter had a severe allergy. Shed accidentally eaten something at school, and we had to drop everything and rush to the ER. In the middle of a packed workday, I notified my team, shifted priorities, and once she was safe at home, I used the evening to catch up. That moment reinforced that caregiving teaches daily resilience, focus under pressure, and the ability to lead with heart. In a world where corporate cultures increasingly demand human-centered leadership, caregiving is not a detour from executive growth but a path that fortifies it. 4 tangible ways caregiving strengthens leadership: Resilience becomes your foundation: At its core, caregiving is a daily exercise in resilience. It is about showing up even when exhaustion looms, problem solving under pressure, and finding patience in moments of chaos. These very qualities mirror the demands of leadership. When leading global initiatives, the resilience Ive honed through caregiving becomes my anchor. The silent strength propels me to navigate complexities with grace and confidence. You adapt in real time: Schedules shift. Emergencies happen. Caregiving builds the muscle of agility. That skill becomes invaluable when leading through crises, managing cross-functional teams, or responding to evolving market conditions. When we scaled initiatives into Latin America, the ability to flex, listen, and adjust quickly allowed us to lead with both strategy and cultural awareness. Empathy becomes a leadership superpower. Caregiving in tandem operates similarly to vulnerability. This proximity to real-life challenges fuels empathy, a quality often discussed but rarely practiced in corporate corridors. You learn how to read between the lines, anticipate needs, and lead with patience. These qualities build trust in teams and drive inclusion that is not performative but lived. During intergenerational conversations in Asia-Pacific countries, deep listening shaped how we created space for everyones voice to matter. You prioritize people, not just productivity: Imagine if corporate cultures embraced the principles learned through caregiving: resilience, adaptability, empathy. What would change? In my work with The Brotherhood Program and the 30for30 initiative, Ive witnessed firsthand how integrating these values reshapes team dynamics, strengthens organizational trust, and drives sustainable impact. Caregiving doesnt just inspire leaders to be better, but it compels us to build better environments for those we lead. How leaders can practice care inside their companies According to a 2025 KPMG survey, 76% of working parents believe that becoming a parent has increased their motivation at work. Furthermore, 83% of C-suite executives who are working parents report that their companies encourage open discussions about the challenges of managing work and parenting. These statistics underscore the deep connection between caregiving and leadership resilience and the importance of organizational cultures that embrace these dual roles. Leaders can develop and practice these principles at work, by following these tips. Check in with genuine curiosity. Replace Do you have bandwidth? with How are you managing today? Lead by example. Show your team that you take mental health and out-of-office time seriously. Give flexibility that matters. Let employees shape the way they work based on real life. Normalize asking for help. Encourage vulnerability by being open about your own needs. Identify caregivers on your team. Offer mentorship and resources that reflect their reality. Caregiving is not a detour from professional growth; it is a crucible for it. The leadership skills honed through caring for others are needed in todays evolving corporate landscape. For those of us balancing both, its a testament to our strength, adaptability, and unyielding commitment to leading with heart and purpose. Authentic leadership, after all, is just another space to extend the resilience, empathy, and adaptability we practice daily. Tope Ajala, global inclusion and impact officer at Ogilvy, and host of podcast Life to a Teee.
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E-Commerce
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. Those words written by Charles Dickens are surprisingly on point, despite the author being dead for well over a century. We continue to live in febrile and perplexing times with many of us expecting to see all four horses of the apocalypse over the horizon at any time. Confidence, so central to peoples willingness to spend, is at best fragile. Our two biggest global economiesthe United States and Chinaare on the back foot and were all feeling the impact. As consumers, were increasingly resentful, angry, and ready to withhold our hard-earned cash. Not only has peoples trust in many institutions diminished in recent years, according to a recent study conducted in 28 countries, a staggering 61% of those surveyed hold grievances against government, business, and the wealthy due to perceived inequalities and unfairness. The list of causes for peoples concerns is growing fastfrom geopolitics to the cost-of-living crisis, misinformation and disinformation, bad actors, and the dizzying speed of technological change, including the rapid rise of AI, to name just a few. Also growing is the need for a marketplace response, specifically from the brands and organizations that are the primary drivers of action, and in which consumers still invest a degree of trust. What brands need to do Brands should listen, empathize, and demonstrate, not just with words, but with tangible actions that they understand their customers and can support them in achieving what they want. However, in todays challenging climate this might not be enough. When consumers are feeling so aggrieved, I see three actions that can help brands move consumer sentiment in a more positive direction. Make the first move, however small In challenging times, an entrenched position can seem appealing. Yet an Im right, youre wrong, you dont understand defensive mindset often brings inertia. When the company makes the first move and bends a little, it can be easier to move things forward. For example, in 2018, KFCs UK operation almost collapsed when it ran out of chicken. The companys FCK campaign made international news; to make amends, KFC ran an apology ad rearranging the letters of its name to spell out FCK on a chicken bucket. This response, which harnessed humility, humor, and honesty, was well-received and showed how timely communication and gestures can make all the difference. Contextual adaptability is more valuable than ever, especially as younger audiences gravitate toward brands rooted in community and co-creation. Transparency matters, but what truly sets brands apart today is how they respond and adapt once the reactions start kicking in. That is where real connection and loyalty are built. Duolingo recently faced backlash over its new AI-first policy, which clashed with the human touch users expect from the category, and especially from such a personality-driven brand. While transparency was a good start, their responsedeleting posts and posting a tone-deaf attempt at humorcame off as insincere and dismissive. What was missing was genuine openness and willingness to adapt. By listening to feedback and engaging with users concerns, Duolingo could have turned criticism into a chance to build trust and further strengthen their cult-like following. Demonstrate you understand what matters A key pillar of conflict resolution is demonstrating that you understand what matters. Its also a central component of brand buildingand one thats even more important at a time when customers are rife with anger and resentment. Showing empathy in difficult times does more than offer immediate reassurance, it creates a powerful ripple effect. Seen optimistically, it is a rare opportunity for brands to earn lasting customer loyalty and brand resonance. Today, technology enables an unprecedented array of ways to leverage greater customer personalization to demonstrate a brands appetite to serve and move things forward in audience-relevant ways. IKEA, for example, leverages data and consumer research to support their customers through the cost-of-living crisis. They actively work to make products more affordable to match local and individual tastes. They also track visits and clicks on their online store to ensure they manage the price reductions while keeping an eye on their own long-term financial sustainability. In addition, their knack for quickly bringing trends like dopamine décor, kidulting, and bed-rotting to life in their stores helps them connect with their audiences, providing them with some much-needed joy and comfort, while times feel bleak. Create a sense of togetherness It takes time to ease frayed nerves, misconceptions, and mistrust. Great storytelling and tone are tangible markers of a companys commitment to its customers. Volvos recent EX90 For Life ad, which imagines how an unborn childs future could be erased without the brands groundbreaking safety technology, is a human story universally relatable, yet directly brand-relevant. It powerfully demonstrates how finding and cultivating points of connection with your customer are the secret to building, maintaining, and energizing any productive relationship with consumers. Engaging, uniting, and connecting is central to us as humans and necessary to build and re-build trust. The same applies to brands and the businesses behind them. Geopolitics and economic volatility are beyond any single businesss control. Yet, in the current climate, brands that bear down on each interaction and experience at every touchpoint will move consumer sentiment onto more positive ground. Sairah Ashman is global CEO of Wolff Olins.
Category:
E-Commerce
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