Many businesses focus the lion’s share of their available time, energy, effort and financial resources on pursuing very defined/ articulated commercial/ financial objectives.

While the necessity to achieve and sustain a viable business is well understood, business owners often overlook the development of their workplace culture as being a major contributing factor to realizing financial success.

In 2015 I was asked by the Chairperson of the Napier Rotary Club (New Zealand) to present to members on any topic of my choosing. I willingly and happily accepted this invitation, and in so doing prepared a PowerPoint presentation to serve as the “backbone” of what I wanted to say about how to evolve an organization. For those who are interested, this presentation in its entirety can be viewed in my LinkedIn profile found here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterdalexander

In my opinion and continually evolving experience, the rate/ speed at which an organization will evolve (become better/ stronger/ larger) very much depends on:

Factor 1:       Its Culture

Plus

Factor 2:       Its Resources and How It Allocates Its Resources 

Plus

Factor 3:       The Competencies and Capacities of Its People 

Plus

Factor 4:       Its Structure

Plus

Factor 5:       The Level of Desire/ Will to Change That Is Evident Among Stakeholders

 

This relationship can be expressed by the equation:

“e” = Factor 1 + Factor 2 + Factor 3 + Factor 4 + Factor 5

…where “e” means the “Speed of Evolution”

By maximising/ optimising each of the 5 x Factors above, you are causing the ‘Speed of Evolution’ of your organisation to be optimal.

If you do not have a business environment which is characterised by cultural principles such as “cooperation”, “collaboration”, “empowerment” and “inclusivity” then your business is more than likely not a happy and (intrinsically) rewarding place for people to work…and unhappy people equates to less-than-optimal productivity and creativity; and can reflect in a relatively high staff turnover rate.

Example of an outstanding positive business culture:

  • High level of collaboration
  • High level of camaraderie
  • Commonly agreed upon decisions are still supported by the opposing minority
  • Ready exchange of ideas

 

Example of an undesirable business culture.

  • Poorly communicated stakeholder expectations
  • Low level of trust amongst internal stakeholders
  • Low level of cooperation and collaboration

 

Over the years I have observed that the most successful businesses spend time, effort and money on fostering a “great place to work” feeling amongst their team. In such a workplace, people feel:

  • Included on the journey.
  • They can apply their individual strengths/ characters in their role with a good amount of autonomy and without fear of being judged harshly.
  • Naturally drawn to want to help their colleagues.
  • That they want to share their honest ideas/ opinions openly.

 

In my opinion and experience I believe that the extent to which people in positions of authority exert their authority through enforcing legal agreements to try and achieve compliance has a considerable adverse influence on the culture of an organization. As a CEO of a national franchise in New Zealand, the culture of that company was such that I recall only a few instances during my 12 year term in that role when (with Board authorization) I moved to protect the interests of other shareholders by enforcing the provisions of the relevant Shareholder Agreement.

I have found over the years that the least productive way to foster a desirable workplace culture is by threatening a party with the enforcement of a legal agreement. In fact, I regard such a style of management as being immature and compensatory for a lack of people management skills apparent in the person performing the threat.

I have found that it is far more positive and productive to manage the activities and behaviours of other people through managing expectations versus enforcing some legal agreement. Talk with your people…often.

In managing other people who you are leading, set them up to win…equip them with a solid understanding of what you expect them to do (and how) from the outset, and keep talking with them to keep guiding them in their pursuits. Think about the life of a parent. A parent repetitively guides the behaviour of their developing children in order for the desired behaviour to eventually become ingrained, and from there natural practice for the child. The same can be said for school teachers teaching any level of student that you care to think about. So why should it be any different in the case of business leaders ?

I have three ‘Golden Rules” when it comes to managing the activities of other people:

Rule #1:        Never reprimand another person in front of others, and when doing so point out what the individual has been doing that has been right (i.e. in accordance with expectation) – over and above discussing what their unacceptable behavior was that warranted the chat between you and them.  

Rule #2:        Be constructive in all feedback/ guidance that is provided to the incumbent. (when warranted) Encourage a positive change of behavior/ attitude in the incumbent – show how this can be achieved.

Rule #3:        Look for opportunities to praise and reward people who are clearly applying themselves to the best of their ability.

I often ponder why it is that as children we receive praise and reward for when we (for example) do a good job of something, help someone else achieve something, achieve something of merit, etc…yet when we become adults such praise and reward/ recognition is seldom seen or heard ?

Having coached kids in junior sport I have seen the positive difference it makes for a child to be told they “kicked a great goal” or they “had a superb game”; compared to other coaches who constantly snarl at and criticize players for not achieving what the coach thinks they’re capable of achieving.

As a leader (business owner/ manager) it is important to remember that each individual has their own strengths/ weaknesses and a unique ability to perform. In my view, what matters most is that people strive to be the best they can be at what they do…and the people who are responsible for encouraging performance duly recognize and reward individuals when they consider that the individual is in fact applying themselves to the best of their ability.

It is surprising to see the number of businesses where employees still operate in “silo” situations. This is where an employee operates virtually in isolation of their colleagues – concentrating exhaustively on performing the work scope that is reflected in the given Job Description; and has no predisposition to work collaboratively. I have seen this culture in organizations that pride themselves on having a “flat structure” as well as in relation to vertically structured organizations.

I have found that workplaces which encourage “silo” situations are generally not happy workplaces to work in, and the businesses concerned generally don’t evolve at the same rate as those which encourage a more collaborative, cooperative and inclusive dynamic to exist between internal stakeholders.

Another major contributing reason as to why organizations fail to evolve at a commendable rate is that the people who are in positions of authority attempt to control the people who they are appointed to manage the activities of.

It is absolutely detrimental to human relationships (in all aspects of human life) for one person to try and control the thoughts and actions of another person. Such controlling behavior will only result in frustration and resentment…and if it perseveres, the breakdown of a functional relationship.

Overbearing control can most certainly cause people to feel suppressed, oppressed, and hamstrung. Often fear develops in the subordinate, causing them to be distracted from doing a good job by the fear that has been instilled within them. Control is counterproductive to people becoming the best that they can be – it strips people of their sense of individuality, and dampens enthusiasm, creativity, flair, innovation and imagination – and will often cause people not to contribute ideas towards the advancement of the given organization.

From what I have experienced as a senior manager to date, I rate induced anxiety/ fear as the #1 reason why organizations don’t progress/ evolve to realise their potential. Fear is a “handbrake” that will stifle the forward movement of any organization.

“Controlling” other people is not an effective management style/ practice. Rather, it is more about a demonstration of power in my view.

The opposite can be said about empowerment. If you want to bring the best out of any person – for them to win at their pursuit, in my opinion there is no more powerful way of achieving this than by empowering the individual with as much discretion and autonomy to decide and act as you can (still with you guiding them if/ when they ask for it, or as/ when you can see they need your input).

As a result of doing so you should see the empowered individual:

  • Show more pride and dedication towards their pursuit.
  • Achieve a higher quality and/ or greater result.
  • Want to pursue more/ other/ new tasks/ activities.
  • Want to take on greater responsibility.
  • Display greater trust and respect towards you.

 

My final “words of wisdom” that I’d like to offer on the topic of building a desirable workplace culture is that as a leader (business owner/ manager) encourage genuine views/ contributions to come forward from your team.

I have seen some businesses slow down due to the owners being somewhat dictatorial in their management style – to the extent that the stakeholders who reported to them became anxious about stating their honest opinions to them for fear of reprisal.

If something doesn’t work – for whatever reason, then it is in the best interests of the organization (as a whole) for the person in the relevant position of authority to be told that this is the case; so the issue can be resolved and the organization can move forward.