Values-Driven Leadership: How Eileen Fisher Preserved Culture During an Economic Downturn
by Alicia Korten
Values Keynote Speaker | Leading Voice on Workplace Culture
During a visit to Eileen Fisher’s headquarters in Irvington, New York, I spoke with several leaders from Eileen Fisher’s People and Culture team.
Our topic?
How they used their human-centered values to navigate a period of significant economic uncertainty.
What emerged was a clear example of values-driven leadership in action, and how Eileen Fisher was able to protect their high-performing workplace culture while reducing costs.
Operationalizing core values means translating an organization’s stated values into everyday leadership decisions, employee behaviors, and organizational practices.
This article is part of a four-part series examining real world examples of how Eileen Fisher & Mary's Gone Crackers are operationalizing shared principles through everyday leadership decisions to build unity and drive performance.
If you are interested in reading further, you can find additional articles on our resources page under "Real World Examples: Core Values in Action"
Alicia Korten
Values Keynote Speaker
Award-Winning Author
Culture keynote speaker Alicia Korten brings her 20 years of experience building high-performance workplace cultures in retail, manufacturing, finance, and wellness to the national stage.
A Fulbright Scholar and architect of the We Culture Framework, she is a sought after speaker for mission-driven leaders in global industries ranging from finance and insurance to energy and healthcare.
Why Culture Can Fragment During Economic Uncertainty
It is relatively easy for organizations to feel confident about their culture when business is strong. Companies launch new programs and expand teams expand. Success makes people optimistic.
But during periods of uncertainty, culture often fragments. Budget constraints, layoffs, or strategic shifts foster fear and confusion.
When fear spreads, culture erode. Employees start whispering to each other:
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“I don’t know what’s going on.”
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“My opinion doesn’t count.”
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“I'm keeping my head down.”
Employees feel out of control. Trust declines. Engagement suffers.
In these moments, values‑driven leadership is the key to sustaining a unified workforce and protecting organizational culture.
Culture Resilience: Growth vs. Uncertainty
Stable Periods
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Obvious opportunities
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Confidence and clear momentum
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Strong engagement
Uncertain Times
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Confusion
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Declining trust
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Reduced engagement
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Times of uncertainty test high-performing workplace cultures. These are the moments when values clarity and leadership matter most.
How Eileen Fisher Used Values‑Based Leadership During Economic Uncertainty
In the video below, Eileen Fisher executives reflect on how the company engaged employees across the organization to help navigate an economic downturn while maintaining operational alignment.
They didn't make their decisions behind closed doors. Instead they leveraged their value of connection.
Executives engaged employees across the organization in brainstorming ideas about how the company could reduce expenses while continuing to invest in the future.
Strategic Crisis Leadership
When hit with an economic downturn,
instead of reacting behind closed doors, leadership turned to their core values to guide decisions and sustain organizational unity.
Eileen Fisher executives from the Department of People and Culture discuss how the company engaged employees across the organization to help navigate economic uncertainty while protecting culture.
Shari Simberkoff, Head of their Department of People and Culture
Yvette Jarraeu, Director of Leadership, Learning and Development
Allison King, Director of Internal Communications
Amy Hall, Director of Social Consciousness
Engaging Employees in the Hard Decisions
Instead of isolating employees from difficult decisions, Eileen Fisher invited the entire community to participate in identifying solutions. Teams generated ideas across many areas of the business, including:
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Cutting travel expenses
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Reducing spending on company lunches
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Encouraging voluntary extended time-off
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Scaling back while protecting wellness and education benefits
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Treating benefit reductions as temporary rather than permanent
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Finance leaders checking in regularly with teams about budgeting
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Intentionally reinforcing employee safety and reassurance during stressful periods
This collaborative approach reflected the company’s core value of connection. Consulting employees helped them feel they had both visibility into the situation and influence over the solutions.
Rather than fear spreading through the organization, the process reinforced community, shared ownership, and a high-performing workplace culture.
Values-Based Leadership in Action During Uncertainty
Shared Principles
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Guide Leadership Decisions
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Shape Communication
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Build Employee Trust
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Maintain Cultural Stability
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In times of uncertainty, leaders sustain culture through transparent, principled-centered actions.
Leveraging Connection to Strengthen Cultural Resilience
The company’s core value of connection shaped how leaders approached the crisis. Instead of imposing solutions from the top, leaders used connection as a way to mobilize Eileen Fisher's collective intelligence.
When employees feel connected to leadership and to one another, they are more likely to engage constructively with difficult challenges. The process of problem‑solving together strengthened trust at a time when many organizations were experiencing declining morale.
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Connection isn’t just a cultural value. It’s a strategic advantage that enables organizations to navigate uncertainty through trust, collaboration, and shared insight.
Key Takeaways: Leading through Economic Uncertainty
Values-based leadership becomes most visible during periods of economic uncertainty. When organizations face budget pressure, layoffs, or strategic shifts, culture is threatened. The Eileen Fisher example illustrates how to use shared beliefs to guide difficult decisions while preserving trust and community.
What does the Eileen Fisher example demonstrate?
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Organizational culture is threatened during periods of economic uncertainty
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Transparency and participation helped preserve trust and community
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Core values strengthen culture resilience
What actions can values-driven leaders take?
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Reinforce core values as a way to make shared decision
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Create transparency around difficult organizational choices
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Engage employees in solving real challenges
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Treat high-performing workplace culture, not as a luxury, but as a source of resilience
Key Takeaways from Eileen Fisher
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Culture is vulnerable during uncertainty
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Principle-centered leadership strengthens trust
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Transparency and participation preserve community
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Operationalized values create resilience under pressure
Company Culture
Myth vs. Reality
Myth→ Strong culture sustains itself automatically
Reality→ Culture requires active reinforcement especially during difficult times
Build a Unified Workforce: The Values Keynote
As a values keynote speaker, Alicia Korten helps leaders understand how core values guide decisions during both growth and uncertainty.
Her workplace culture and values keynotes help leaders align culture, brand, and leadership around core values to strengthen collaboration and performance.
Turn Core Values Into High-Performance Workplace Results
Alicia Korten’s workplace culture and values keynotes help organizations align culture, leadership, and strategy so values are consistently put into action.
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Strengthen alignment
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Improve performance
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Build a workplace culture that lasts
About Alicia Korten
Alicia Korten is a sought-after workplace culture keynote speaker for mission-driven leaders in global industries ranging from finance and insurance to energy and healthcare.
With over 20 years of experience building high-performance workplace culture in retail, manufacturing, finance, and wellness, she helps mission-driven organizations translate core values into unified culture.
Alicia is the award-winning author of Values Ignite and Values Sustain, guidebooks used by organizations seeking to operationalize core values to drive leadership decisions and everyday work.
Unify Your Workforce
A workplace culture and values keynote speaker creates alignment by turning core values into shared language and practical action.
⤷ Explore a Company Values Keynote
Watch Synergy Success:
A Culture Keynote to Amplify Your Shared Values
Watch a video demonstrating how Alicia Korten's Synergy Success company values keynote connects shared principles o practical models and real organizational stories.
From Values to Performance
Core Values
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Leadership Alignment
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Employee Engagement
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Business Results