Roses. Grocery bags. Roses. Prom dresses. Roses again.
In March 2020 the world was becoming a much different place. The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, the U.S. entered a state of emergency, and California became the first state to announce a statewide lockdown.
For Rhonda Morris, Chief Human Resources Officer of Chevron, the evolving crises would intersect both her personal and professional life in unexpected ways.
Rhonda carried the responsibility of ensuring all 45,000+ employees – working at the California headquarters and across several countries in settings from drilling platforms and remote pipelines to trading floors and office work – were safe. At the same time, Rhonda was consumed by thoughts of her teenage daughter, soon to encounter a series of cancellations and disappointments, and the wellbeing of her elderly mother, who lived alone and was suddenly cut off from the church, shopping, and community.
She questioned how they could remain resilient through shelter-in-place when none of the normal relief was available and with no end in sight. At that moment, Rhonda realized: If I’m struggling with these demands across my roles as mother, daughter, and leader, so are my people. They need to feel less alone. They need to feel connected. They need to feel supported.
This realization sparked action. The self-described introvert decided to do something out of character: she wrote a Workplace post (Chevron’s internal Facebook platform) to all 45,000 employees with personal insights on how the pandemic was impacting her and her loved ones – from anxieties to conflicts to new-found caregiving responsibilities. In the post, she shared a picture of one of her mom’s rose bushes.
The response was overwhelming. It was clear people needed human interaction and comfort – not just words or messaging – in a time of panic and uncertainty. They also needed leadership – the type that provides a guiding light to thrive in this challenging time. Leadership that modeled resilience, empathy, adaptability, and the company’s value of family and caring. The same things her mother and daughter needed from her.
As CHRO, Rhonda could tell employees that Chevron cared about them. But by leading with vulnerability, leaning into the discomfort of integrating work and life, Rhonda created a space of psychological safety and empathy so that leaders and managers at all levels could be upfront about their own stress and adversity while doing the same for their people. She continued to share these periodic “journal entry” posts, including pictures of her mom’s groceries or the roses or her daughter’s moment of joy in a socially distanced chat with a friend on the lawn, moments that fueled her own resilience.
It wasn’t just Rhonda. She and other leaders came together. They listened, they modeled, and they created space for people across the organization to come together. Supporting everyone through the shifting array of challenges would require the collective effort of quick, creative problem-solvers. One way they engaged directly with employees was by “listening” and posing questions to understand what was top-of-mind at the moment in a way that a survey couldn’t deliver. This provided a real-time feedback loop, accelerating Chevron’s ability to best support its people.
