At the start of a new year, we all take some time to look back at the year we’ve come through and hopefully, make plans towards a better year forward. However what I’ve learned in working with so many organizations, is that the best laid new years plans, seem to always fail when at least one of the following corporate cultural states exists in an organization.
It might sound simplistic but it really doesn’t matter how much you work on product development, or marketing, or any sales efforts or even your financial controls, if your organization breeds any of the following 5 things. A ground breaking, innovative product that is a game changer in the market will see financial success in the beginning, but sustained growth is impossible to achieve in an environment that is infested with any one of the following things.
1. An environment of fear
This is an environment where everyone is walking around in “CYA” mode. For those unfamiliar with this term, count yourselves lucky. In an effort to explain, this is an environment of extreme documentation, constant anxiety and ultimately more time spent on looking around to see who you can blame for something going wrong, then actually doing anything productive. While I know many leaders who still like to lead with that iron fist, slowly those working for those kind of leaders, will begin to see that they have choices and many would choose lower paying jobs to working under these conditions.
Your company should be the safest place for your employees. The world outside the doors of your organization can be very hostile, precarious and competitive. Your people should NOT be feeling those insecurities walking into your building. Most leaders that I’ve been working with talk about finding the right ‘people resources’ as some of their biggest challenges. As a result, creating the right environment for your ‘intellectual capital” to thrive just makes good business sense.
2. Risk aversion
In this global economy, competition is tougher and broader then it has ever been. First to market has become not only a goal but also a strategy for many organizations. As a result, trying something new and taking a risk, should be an integral part of an organization's culture. Let people think outside the box and get rewarded for their efforts. I’ve experienced many organizations that test, test again and re-test every minor decision in an effort to avoid mistakes. I’ve seen this breed an environment of mediocrity. I believe ‘fear’ at work, in any form, has no place in building a vibrant, forward thinking and innovative organization.
If your aim is to get people to think differently and try new things, you’re going to have to have some kind of a policy (verbalized or not) about what it means to take risks and what happens when those risks that are taken, do not work out. No one will take a chance, even when the chance relies on educated guessing, if they fear the repercussions of taking those risks.
3. Lack of creativity
Somewhat linked to number 2 on this list, is the complaint that I often hear about a lack of creativity in an organization. The interesting thing is that when I hear this complaint from leaders my first question is ‘how is a new idea embraced when it doesn’t work out as hoped?’ You see, if people feel that they would be some how reprimanded for trying something new when it doesn’t work out, then it is highly unlikely that they will bring forward any new creative ideas again. What’s worse is that this spreads like wild fire throughout the organization and it becomes so clear to everyone that a new idea cannot fail.
Two things happen to organizations like this; the first is that they don’t get creative, out of the box thinking, because those ideas really do rely on best guesses and not anything proven. And the second thing is that the organization becomes so weighed down in testing and retesting and retesting ideas again, that they are not nimble enough to compete. Someone once told me that if you were asked 20 years ago if you would use a portable devise that plugs into your ears and plays music, many would have said, ‘what for?” We’d never have seen the birth of the iPod.
4. Secrecy
Sometimes known as lack of communication, this is a critical part of ensuring that you not only get buy in and support from your employees but also that you get those creative, new ideas brought forward in a way that is aligned with your company’s focus and goals. This is an interesting line in the sand with many managers and leaders. How much do we share with the greater organization? What if things aren’t well, do we let them know? Won’t that see a mass exodus? The truth is that a communicative and open environment needs to be part of the DNA of an organization to work, especially when times are not great. So building an organization that encourages an open-door policy amongst the leadership and a forum for interaction is important.
This is important when you’re starting out and building a business. Getting people on-board and aligned with the vision is important and ensures that everyone understands the direction that the organization is heading. It also is important in recruiting new people, so people feel a part of something bigger then they are. Daniel Pink talks about it in his famous TED talk http://www.danpink.com/ac/ted-talk/ and asks us to focus on 3 things; autonomy, mastery and purpose, in order to thrive in our new economy. So if you’re not clear about your vision, if you hide the truth from your people, if you’re constantly having closed-door meetings, you’re not giving people the information that will help them “buy-in” and feel like they have a purpose within the organization.
5. Lack of flexibility
Here, I’m talking about the opportunity to allow for more freedom within the work environment as a whole. In doing a great deal of research with millennials, it’s clear that they have a very different set of criteria for what makes for a good work environment and what would keep them working hard for an organization. Being someone of a ‘certain’ age, many of my contemporaries often describe this cohort as ‘entitled, disloyal, and lazy’. In fact, the truth is that on a whole, this group is no more entitled, disloyal or lazy then we were at their age, they just demonstrate and value different things. They’ve experienced information dissemination through technology with such speed, that it’s natural that their expectations are higher and their need for knowing, learning, having, comes off to us as ‘entitled’. We also must give this group a break when it comes to how they work. The standard 9am to 5pm may not work for them. In fact, they might be more productive coming in at 10am and then they may even find themselves so engaged that they work later.
It’s about keeping your finger on the pulse of your organization and having the courage to be flexible, with hours, office set up, compensation packages, free time, or whatever else suits your employees. Just because “it’s always been done that way” is not the right reason to keep things status quo.