Coaching By Magi Graziano
Five Double-Edged Sword Philosophies that Lead to Destructive Company Culture
M
ost of us spend the majority of our time at the office or actively working
inside, or as part of, a human work system. Whether we are conscious to it or not, the corporate culture of an organization can make or break how we feel about the orga- nization and our place in it.
While most awake and aware leaders say they want a constructive corporate cul- ture, many are uncertain of what it really takes to shape one. Consequently, these executives and managers unintentionally lead their people toward the fatal, destruc- tive side of the culture coin. They do this by buying into five double-edged sword philosophies. These philosophies will undermine your mission to craft a con- structive corporate culture.
1
Winning Above All Else. Winning is an incredibly powerful motivator.
However, when the need to win overwrites better judgment, fragments and erodes core values, runs over people, and leads people to the brink of exhaustion, it must be called out and new behaviors that promote and inspire must be integrated into the culture. Pursuit of results above all else can come at the cost of relationships, health and well- ness, trust, quality and safety. Inside competitive work cultures, mem- bers are often expected to operate in a “win-lose” framework, outperform peers, and work against (rather than with) their coworkers. What begins with a healthy race often devolves into unproductive dog- eat-dog internal workplace behavior. A once healthy desire to “beat the com- petition” gone unchecked, very often, creates opportunities for unproductive behavior and perpetuating neural pathways and automatic ways of thinking and being that result in an organization eating itself alive. This shows up on the floor by people arguing for win/lose scenarios, in-fighting
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for power, control, rewards, promotions and resources. A focal shift from we to me, where personalized thinking prevail. Even though the intentions of leaders who want to “win” is most often well- meaning, a workplace culture that values winning above all else can be fertile ground for destructive behavior and employment brand erosion.
2
Commanding and Controlling. In power-driven organizations, hier- archy reigns and members of the manage- ment team are expected to take charge, control subordinates, and yield to the demands of superiors. Historically, this has been the ‘right’ way to lead and for many decades it actually worked. This model is flawed, however, and those man- aged by people who admire and enjoy this model atrophy and stagnate. In workplace cultures where this type of behavior is rewarded, the powerful take over and the powerless surrender.
When leaders and team members are expected and even encouraged to power up over others, people in the organization often view themselves as pawns in the microman- agement chess game, or simply as cogs in the organizational profit wheel. They lose moti- vation and initiative and give less of their discre- tionary time to make the organization better. Commanding and controlling is a vicious cycle, and the only way out is to call it out, and inspire a new way to lead and a new way to follow.
3
over years. But what often got us here will not get us there; and opposition is one of those elements of culture that turns the organization against itself. In work cul- tures where members are expected to be critical, oppose ideas of others, and make ‘safe’ decisions, people drop into fear, and suppress their ideas and creativity. Oppo- sition shows up in communication such as, “Yes, but,” and “We already tried that and it failed,” “I have been here for years and I know it won’t work.” While everyone ought to be working together in tolerance and engagement, members of this organi- zation spend far too much time navigating personalities and conflict, than collabo- rating, innovating and solving problems.
4
Pursuing Perfection. There are leaders of quality-driven organiza- tions who pride themselves with a commit- ment to excellence. While that intention may have been initially pure and congruent with the leader’s values, all too often the unconscious underlying behavior that is fostered with this value, is perfection. In this culture, people do not take risks, they do not try new things, and they almost cer- tainly do not put themselves or their repu- tation on the line.
Perfection, by nature of its definition, leaves very little room for risk taking and creativity in your organization.
Leaders of many modern organizations often stake their reputa- tions on delivering excel- lence or superior service. There are not many busi- ness owners who would stand behind sloppy work or delivering recy-
Opposing Others. In oppositional workplace cultures there is often a root of overcoming obstacles that afforded the organization sustainability and success
cled auto parts to a customer in a shape other than described in the sale; but there is a subtle difference between standing for quality and being in pursuit of perfection. Perfection, by nature of its definition, leaves very little room for risk taking and creativity in your organization. When curi- osity is stifled and looking good is the pri- mary focus, mistakes are hidden, learning is
Automotive Recycling
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