What do you do if your team is struggling with a negative and exclusive team culture?

Assessing culture can be difficult depending on how it is handled. I was with an organization that would conduct bi-annual survey's to get a sense of the culture and employee engagement. The questions provided an opportunity to rate the organization and provide feedback. Though they struggled to have participate have employees participate due to lack of trust that their responses were anonymous. Based on the wrap up questions, it would be easy to have a pretty good sense of who the individual was or area of responsibility. To truly assess culture have an open, anonymous feedback portal or engage with an external firm that can conduct an corporate culture audit.

To set expectations on team culture, consider a team norms/ 'working agreement' workshop. Finish this simple question: ??"We work best together when..." You might consider: ?Logistics, core meeting times, remote/ hybrid practices for success ??Communication etiquette ??Team collaboration practices ??Practices & methods for sharing ideas and creating successful group discussion ??Simple rules for making team decisions ??What culture is desired- what creates it as well as what hinders it If you are working with a team directly, consider stepping into a facilitator role for the workshop and see what emerges from the team first prior to bringing your ideas. Happy norming! ??

An inclusive culture will allow team members to feel valued and appreciated.. once everyone feels appreciated there will be an increase in collaborative efforts and participation which will boost creativity and increase productivity

Creating an inclusive environment is greater than the words written in an email or company "mission" statement. It has to be lived out and demonstrated from senior leadership all the way through the organization. In addition to creating an environment where everyone has an opportunity to share in a constructive and positive manner, being able to be themselves without out fear of negative backlash. The words and mission fall flat when it comes across as performative and nongenuine.

Having worked in and part of leadership for an organization going through major leadership transitions supporting your direct reports requires continuous open communication, coaching and mentoring opportunities. It's important for leadership to provide as clear as possible a roadmap of what lies ahead. The biggest challenge from team members was the fear of not knowing what lay ahead. Being able to reassure, and guide is crucial for an effective transition. Communicating via one on one or in team huddles - not everyone like speaking up in a group. Mentoring and coaching how to process and look for the opportunities during the points of transition and validate concerns. People want to know they are being seen and heard.

In my experience showing honest, sincere appreciation is powerful. In order to show this does not require huge grand gestures it requires noticing, acknowledging and celebrating both in a group and in private. People like to know that you see their work and it's appreciated. One way I've celebrated team members: - recognizing them in team meetings - having them share their win/success with the team (if they felt comfortable) - a token of appreciation that would be of value to them (ex. had a team member like gift cards from a specific online retailer so, giving gift card to somewhere else would be of no value) - creating an environment for others to celebrate each other vs always coming from management. Coming from peers is powerful.

And take a hard look in the mirror while you are evaluating your team. Some leaders are promoting this behavior without intent or realization

Negativity in workplace & Company's Culture (or lack of it) impacts employee productivity and directly impacts your company's profitability !!! In my experience, identifying key factors causing the negativity & employee engagement is the foundational step. Often you find areas emerge related to people, inefficient processes and cultural elements while working with cross-functional teams / geography. While one would love to solve everything, its important to consider a top 3 areas to address immediately. Road test the potential solution, with the team to validate if it would help. Engaging your team members, to be part of the solution / continuous improvements, often helps drive success to these workstreams. What do you think ?

Get to the root cause. Go deep and figure out if it is one or two bad apples in your leadership team. If it is, move them out asap.

Continuously monitor the team culture and solicit feedback from team members to ensure that efforts to promote inclusivity are effective. Be prepared to adjust strategies and initiatives based on feedback and evolving dynamics within the team. Building a positive and inclusive team culture is an ongoing process that requires commitment and effort from everyone involved.