Top Cats and Organizational Culture- The Unpretty Truths

Let me set the scene… a comforting beach bonfire, a sizeable group of people socializing on a beautifully cool evening in the Arabian Peninsula, multiple micro-conversations happening all around on everything from work, to sport, to food and even the economy- and then I hear it ‘…toxic culture!’

I listen attentively while the flames seem to be moving in tune with this disgruntled person’s purge, and I realize how increasingly prevalent this topic has become, now even creeping into my social life (so much for work-life balance ??). The Organizational Development practitioner in me continued to listen though, waiting for the opportune time to rip my shirt open, revealing my OD superhero costume (Marvel, pay attention- The world needs us! ??).

Needless to say, we had quite the bonfire talk from then on, sharing stories on organizational culture(OC) experiences in different organizations, industries and countries- many good, more bad and some very ugly.

The common denominator in all the bonfire accounts, good and bad, was that the OC experience was the product of one person- the top cat. Many of them don’t even realize they’re setting or engraining the cultural feel of the organization (or department, as a sub-culture) simply through their usual interaction with people. Despite the opinion of managers and even CEOs, employees are the ones who ultimately define and rate an organization’s culture- their perception is reality.??

So what do top cats need to do to foster and capitalize on a positive OC?

• Communicate! Barking expectations and corresponding punitive measures won’t foster a good OC, won’t promote open and honest communication, won’t have a positive/ lasting impact on productivity, won’t motivate people, and certainly won’t aid in retention. Communicate the expectations clearly as well as the standards required. Include why they are important, and the impact successful/ lack of achievement would have.

Communication is a 2-way street, so check for understanding of the expectations and their corresponding impact. Actively listen to what is needed for those expectations to be realized, acknowledge challenges, and provide optionable solutions. A vital step often missed is to then gain acceptance on the way forward. This makes employees feel included in the decision process, thus gaining their buy-in, as well as their voluntary acceptance of responsibility for the outcomes. ??

• Match accountability with authority! ?If you’re going to hold employees accountable for something, give them the corresponding decision-making authority and then… back-off! The micro-manager/ self-perceived Superman struggles with this. Fair is fair, if you don’t give employees the authority to make decisions, how can you hold them accountable for the consequent delays in, or a complete lack of, delivery? If you want to control everything, remind yourself why one-man bands have never been as successful as orchestras.

There was a CEO I once did some work for who insisted his management team copy him on every email they sent. You do the math- 6 middle/senior management direct reports in a large company… If he was just reading, let alone responding to, every email he was copied on, he wouldn’t have any time left in his day to do what he actually was supposed to be doing, i.e. focusing on the future of the company, ensuring business continuity and achieving growth.

Consequently, there was no strategic plan or even bold goals in place. Everything was always delayed from budgeting to delivery; crippling centralized decision-making and email paralysis, which resulted in firefighting being the accepted norm, company values being nothing more than attractive posters on corridor walls, and worst of all, customers and employees starting to lose confidence in the company.

Imagine the OC at that company! Responsibility avoidance, witch-hunts, office politics, punitive action... Besides being a red flag for shareholders, it didn’t exactly scream employer of choice.

While that CEO had good intentions, he had to face the harsh reality that his micro-management of daily departmental operations was an obstacle to progress and achievement. He took a while to break the cycle but eventually embraced his role in managing performance, not operations.

If you want employees to trust your leadership, then afford them the contractual courtesy (trust), to perform the functions you hired them for in the first place.??

• Trust! A Harvard Business Review survey (2013) found that 58% of 20,000 people surveyed (different industries, organizations and hierarchies), would rather trust a stranger than their boss. By extension, this statistic was a knockout punch to my ‘boss’ ego!??

I immediately started reflecting. Am I keeping my word? Am I being inconsistent or unfair? Am I not facilitating success? Am I not looking for win-win solutions? Does my word and authority mean less because I need approval before actioning decisions? Do I throw my people under the bus? Do I pit one employee against another? Am I constantly moving the goalposts? What should I do to gain/ maintain their trust? I need them to achieve objectives and goals, but if they don’t trust my leadership, can I count on them to push on towards those goals?

On the flip side, I’ve also heard many managers at all levels of management saying they can’t trust their employees to get the job done- the ‘I’d rather do it myself’ crowd. My response has always been, ‘What have you done to remedy this? Counselling, training, coaching, progressive discipline..?’ If you insist on doing the same things in the same way and under the same conditions, why complain when you get the same results?

Trust your people to do what they have been informed is required of them. If they don’t, initiate the required intervention…Foster trust in you, by rolling a boulder out of your team’s way, rather than crushing them with it.?? ?

• Learn! Most managers were promoted to a managerial job because they were good at what they did. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good at bringing the best out of people. The best Salesperson doesn’t necessarily make the best Sales Manager, which means that those former high-flyers have arguably been promoted to levels of incompetence.

Many managers have never received management training, specifically in how to manage people. Traditional management training interventions have learning outcomes that are mainly focused on the technical components of the management job, like budget preparation, setting targets, analyzing financial statements, preparing reports, etc. All essential, but missing the vital people management component. It’s a question of whether managers manage work, or people. Our primary job as managers is to manage people, to complete work, at the required standards. ?

To do that, top cats need to ask the hard questions and face the harsher truths if they are serious about capitalizing on the outputs of a good OC. They need to learn how individuals work, what makes their productivity thrive, why people are leaving/ staying, what makes them unhappy/ happy at work, why some employees are succeeding while others are failing, which external factors are making employees question their future with you, etc.??

• Appreciate and Recognize! People do not always leave for better compensation. 89% of managers surveyed, believed that employees leave for more money. In contrast, it was found that only 12% of employees left for more money, 88% left due to reasons related to the job (The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, Leigh Branham, 2005). Other global studies cited by Forbes found that 79% of people left their jobs due to a lack of appreciation.

So perspective makes a difference, ‘When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at, change.’ (Dr. Wayne Dyer) ??

A dollar is spent faster than it’s earned (the Elon Musks of the world excluded, of course??) and is forgotten as quickly as it’s spent. A sincere ‘thank you’ from a boss has a much more lasting effect. Appreciation and recognition have been found to inspire employees more than anything- monetary rewards included. Praise should come as easily and quickly as criticism does. The only difference is, praise should be public and criticism, private.

There you have it. Entirely doable without a single penny spent.

Change is inevitable, so even if you’re happy with your current OC, it shouldn’t remain static. OC evolves with generational differences and changes in the external environment. Moulding and maintaining a good OC requires every leader to be open to change, and agile enough to make the changes that positively impact their teams.

The result is a much stronger organization overall. Improved performance (efficiency and effectiveness), improved retention (reduced recruitment costs and increased skill retention), improved employee wellness (reduced absenteeism and increased productivity), improved inclusivity (more innovation means improved customer focus/retention/acquisition, resulting in increased market share)– metrics any top cat would purr over.