Allyson Dylan Robinson delivered a compelling keynote on how leadership behavior is one of the most powerful levers for improving the employee experience. With over 15 years of experience across high-growth startups and global tech companies, Allyson offered research-backed insights and real-world examples that challenged attendees to rethink how they support, develop, and equip leaders to foster thriving workplaces.

‍

‍

Rethinking the employee experience playbook

‍

Allyson opened with a reflection on how much effort teams have invested into traditional employee experience levers like perks, benefits, flexible policies, and recognition programs. Despite these efforts, many organizations are still seeing only marginal improvements in engagement, retention, and employee sentiment.

She posed a bold question: What if the most impactful driver of employee experience is not a program, but a person? Specifically, the manager or leader. Referencing recent research, Allyson revealed how leadership behaviour directly correlates with outcomes like trust, loyalty, belonging, and well-being.

‍

‍

Leadership during times of change

‍

Citing Workday’s 2024 Employee Experience Trends report, Allyson highlighted that employees who feel cared for and supported by leadership are twice as likely to believe their company is navigating change successfully. They are also 40 percent less likely to want to leave.

She emphasized that frontline managers are often the most affected by change but feel the least supported. A disconnect between senior leaders and individual contributors can leave employees feeling unseen, unheard, and burned out.

Allyson’s message was clear. Companies that invest in leadership behaviours that build trust during change see stronger engagement and greater resilience across their teams.

‍

‍

Leadership development is core to the employee experience

‍

Allyson challenged the audience to stop treating leadership development as a separate discipline. Instead, she argued, it should be embedded into every aspect of employee experience. Managers and leaders are often the bridge between intention and implementation. When they are unsupported or misaligned, even the best employee programs can fall flat.

She shared three essential elements for embedding leadership development into employee experience:

1. Equip leaders with skills to build trust, lead with empathy, and manage the human side of work
   
   
2. Empower managers with tools, resources, and support to champion change effectively
   
   
3. Become a champion for prioritizing inclusion, well-being, and human connection in leadership practices
   
   

‍

A real-world case: Nike’s leadership initiative

‍

Allyson shared a powerful case study from her time at Cook Ross, where she co-led a global belonging development initiative for Nike. The goal was to place the company in the top quartile of engagement and inclusion across its industry. Through specialized training, leadership empowerment, tailored tools for managers, and embedded accountability measures, Nike achieved its goal and sustained it.

The initiative coincided with measurable business outcomes:

• Direct-to-consumer revenue grew by 14%
  
  
• Digital sales increased by 24% year over year
  
  
• Overall annual revenue hit an all-time high of $51.2 billion
  
  
• Return customer rates increased by 50%
  
  

The takeaway: equipping leaders and managers to champion belonging and engagement can fuel not just better culture, but also business performance.

‍

‍

Key takeaways

‍

• The most powerful lever for employee experience is leadership and manager behaviour
  
  
• Trust, empathy, and communication are essential leadership skills that impact engagement and retention
  
  
• Citing Workday’s 2024 Employee Experience Trends report,  employees who feel cared for and supported by leadership are twice as likely to believe their company is navigating change successfully. They are also 40 percent less likely to want to leave
  

• By aligning their leadership development and employee experience strategies, companies can make more progress faster