16th February 2021
Stories from an Inspiring Leader – Dave Mowers
Dave Mowers, Global People Engagement Director, White & Case
When [Dave] stepped into a brand new role as Global People Engagement Director at White & Case, Dave Mowers saw an opportunity to more deeply establish the firm’s engagement program, expanding it beyond a series of top-down internal communications campaigns. This required building a network across White & Case’s 46 offices, at every level and function of the organization and introducing a system of values-based actions across the entire firm.
The hallmark of the firm’s Engagement Program has been a deeper commitment to establishing an ongoing two-way dialogue and shared responsibility for change. From their inaugural engagement efforts, Mowers discovered that leaders at every level of White & Case felt more empowered to communicate when they had a sense of what was most important to people.
During the COVID-19 crisis, Mowers demonstrated the effectiveness of using a crowdsourced Employee Voice platform for internal crisis communications. Explains Mowers, “Our people are very accustomed to working hard hours and facing challenges associated with keeping a healthy work/life balance. But this was different. What we heard in our initial pulses is that people’s sense of well-being was deeply threatened in the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.”
Mowers has unleashed the potential of individual employees at White & Case by providing an open forum for them to express their ideas, and to see immediate evidence that their opinions matter. This, in turn, has bolstered employee engagement at the firm through a unique mix of empowerment and shared ownership. Creating an agile culture unifies lawyers and their business service colleagues, supports pioneering client service, and establishes meaningful relationships at every level of the Firm.
Endorsement
“Dave has inspired me and my team […]. He works tirelessly in the best interests of the people of the Firm in the endeavour to bring inclusive employee voice to life there. And in our direct work together, we have learned a great deal from how Dave approaches feedback and coaching. We have said on a number of occasions, “How would Dave approach this issue?” and have adopted learning from our working together in how we lead our own team.”
About Inspiring Leaders
The extract above is taken from the Inspiring Leaders 2020 initiative which recognised exceptional leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic. You can download the full eBook with all the leader stories here.
Inspiring Leaders was created as a vehicle to recognize people who stepped up to help individuals, teams and organizations navigate personal and business challenges, and make a contribution to make their business, their community and the world a better place.
Due to the success of IL 2020, we have brought it back in 2021. We are now open for nominations. For more information about how to enter Inspiring Leaders, dates and fees – click here.