The Triangle of Workplace Culture

The triangle of WORKPLACE CULTURE is a very simple concept yet there are some unique attributes of each stage we encourage organizations to adopt. One of the most fundamental mistakes I think organizations make is we spend so much money on a top-down approach specifically teaching leaders how to lead their employees. When you think about a traditional organization of let's say 100 or 1000 people typically about 80% of the people are employees or individual contributors. This is where the opportunity really exists for organizations to also build a bottom-up approach.

Employee Development:

If an organization invests money in the following stages of employee development the organization will be in a much better place specifically speaking to the present as well as the future. Here are the suggested steps we encourage organizations to make when it comes to employee development:

1.??????Teach employees the value of seeking and accepting feedback.

2.??????Teach employees how to provide feedback thoughtfully and professionally to their peers.

3.??????Fuel the minds of employees positively with a relentless intent of negating negativity at the water cooler.

4.??????Create a tiered approach where people graduate within stages of development depicting their progress as well as identifying those people who are not willing to progress.

5.?????One of the stages should be the development of influential coaches specifically employees who invest in themselves as well as their peers void of having the title of supervisor team leader or manager.

Leadership Development:

Leaders have a lot on their plates especially during these unique times. There are so many leadership programs out there and many of them are incredibly valuable and we will add some additional items to leadership programs such as the following:

1.??????A strategic cadence of positive feedback versus constructive feedback. This is an action as much as a learning imperative.

2.??????How to use language strategically to engage and motivate.

3.??????How to develop an understanding of what motivates each employee versus trying to motivate employees blindly.

4.??????How to you use conversational skills to facilitate trust and connectivity within the team element. Conversations are powerful and organizations MUST NOT ASSUME this is easy for leaders to do!

Culture Creation:

Many organizations forget that people within departments talk to one another and where there is inconsistency there is discord and certainly conversation that follows. Organizations must adopt a top-down cadence of culture creation such as the following suggestions.

1.??????Praising employee development across departmental lines.

2.??????Creating multi department activities that are fun and engaging bring people together to engage and connect.

3.??????Develop a continuous communication strategy and cadence across departmental lines outside of work interactions building connectivity and perspective of one another.

The suggestions we have provided are not the only elements organizations should deploy yet they are the top items we would encourage organizations to adopt. At its most fundamental level, it is imperative that leaders are taught how to provide feedback and coaching thoughtfully and professionally as well as employees learning how to accept coaching and feedback thoughtfully and professionally. This seems like such a simple concept yet we really don't take the time organizationally to invest in employee development so they are professional and thoughtful receivers of leadership. This is where a tremendous opportunity exists for the acceptance of leadership as well as the cultivation of future leadership from within.

If this intrigues you check out our triangle of leadership program where we customize a delivery speaking directly to the business imperatives of your organization. Click Here