In an extract from his book Great Leaders Care, Graeme Cowan explains why caring cultures outperform cautious ones, and what EAs can do about it.
Ask people to describe the best team they’ve ever been part of and the answers are remarkably consistent. Across thousands of anonymous surveys, the same three factors come up – we cared about each other, we had each other’s back and we encouraged each other.
That’s not a feel-good finding. It maps directly onto what Harvard Business School’s Amy Edmondson calls psychological safety; the conditions under which people can speak up, challenge ideas and bring their full thinking to the work. Google’s Project Aristotle found it was by far the most important factor in their highest-performing teams.
For EAs, this research isn’t just interesting background – because you’re often one of the first people to notice when those conditions are starting to erode.
What the law now requires and what that means in practice
Australian workplace health and safety laws that came into effect in 2022 created real accountability for leaders who ignore workplace stress. Criminal liability, personal fines and potential imprisonment are no longer theoretical. The international standard ISO 45003 advocates the same urgency globally.
But the more useful framing isn’t about legal risk, it’s about what good management actually produces. Research from Gartner, Gallup and Harvard Business Review shows that psychologically safe workplaces have 76% higher engagement, 50% more productivity and 74% less stress. Leaders who get ahead of this aren’t spending more time on compliance. They’re having better conversations and getting better results.
As an EA, you’re often better placed than anyone to see when your executive’s leadership style is drifting toward the kind of environment these laws are designed to prevent – and when it’s creating the kind of culture that retains good people.
Staying in the green zone
There are three interconnected pillars of sustainable leadership:
- Self-care – Building personal resilience so leaders can lead from a position of strength rather than exhaustion
- Crew care – Creating belonging and psychological safety within the team
- Knowing how to identify and support team members who are struggling, without burning out in the process
Together, these pillars are about keeping people in what I call the ‘green zone’. This is where people feel energetic, optimistic and resourceful. The alternative is the ‘red zone,’ where stress tips into anger, withdrawal or disengagement.
EAs see both zones up close. You’re often the person who notices the executive coming off a difficult week or the team member whose demeanour has shifted.
That proximity is one of the more valuable things you bring to the role. The question is whether the environment you’re working in gives you the standing to act on what you notice.
The most effective leadership strategy isn’t rescuing people from crisis. It’s preventing crisis in the first place. That’s as true for the executive you support as it is for you.
