Taking a Hard Look at Culture

Organizations need to be built and designed based on their ability to innovate and respond to rapid change, all while creating and sustaining an environment where employees feel a sense of belonging. We can build high performing organizations to help solve the wicked problems of the world if we focus on the importance of creating inclusive cultures in the workplace. Research shows that outcomes associated with this environment include: recruitment and retention of the best talent; high employee engagement; increased innovation; and, overall improved organizational performance. 

 No matter the size or tenure of an organization, steps can be taken to get from your current culture to a desired inclusive culture. The organization must be willing to take a deep dive into understanding the current culture and those underlying assumptions that drive behavior and practices. Some examples are: How does work get done? How are problems solved? Who makes the decisions, and how? For example, is there a democratic decision-making process in place that encourages multiple perspectives to drive innovation? Who is involved in strategic planning, who needs to be involved? How is performance measured and rewarded? What kinds of behaviors and practices are being rewarded? Does the structure promote inclusion, or it is focused on gaining power and authority? How are meetings conducted, and how are decisions made about who attends?

 An organization can then identify their strengths to build upon and prioritize areas of opportunity to shift to inclusive behaviors and practices. There must be alignment of behavior, policies, and practices throughout all levels of the organization, including both formal and informal systems. These systems include (but are not limited to): decision rules and rights; training; leadership modeling; compensation and rewards; performance management; management styles; accountability practices; communication practices; strategic planning; creating authentic interactions, relationship building, and networking opportunities. 

The question becomes why are so many companies resistant to creating this type of culture? And, how do we address that resistance in order to create a more welcoming and respectful workplace where employees are engaged, empowered, and more innovative? 

Changing the Paradigm of Work- How We Start to Change the World

I saw this article in my inbox this morning from Strategy + Business about how we should get rid of the word Manager. My immediate thought was yes, yes, yes! My head was nodding as I was reading it and I immediately started thinking about what the world of work would look like if we no longer had Managers. I started picturing my prior work history and how different my experiences could have been. What could we as a society accomplish if we weren’t Managed in the traditional sense of the word?

In this article, Bryant (2020) proposed three reasons why we should retire the word manager:  1) no one wants to be managed anymore, 2) no one wants to manage anymore, and 3) the word manager fails to capture what we need to get done in organizations today. Instead, Bryant (2020) proposes ‘team leader’. 

I agree with two points that Bryant (2020) makes in the argument. However, I don’t agree with how no one wants to manage anymore because as a society that’s how we have historically (and currently) rewarded people in the workforce. We promote them and they get to become a manager and then leader. By becoming a Manager (and eventual leader) they are part of the in-group that makes decisions and with that comes power, politics, and ego.  Too many organizations and industries still function within this traditional hierarchy system—and yet we wonder why people are more disengaged and burnt-out from work than ever. We have created systems in which we have problems with our systems and our structures, not our people. We have created workplaces where our systems and structures are built top-down on the premise of control and playing the game of politics to get ahead. We have to ask ourselves, how and why. How did we end up creating these systems, and why do we still have them? THEY DON’T WORK!

Employees have to exert energy battling and navigating these top-down systems/structures. I’ve recently heard someone describe their situation at work as a “land-mine.” Yet, we only have a certain, finite amount of energy to expend in our days. Imagine a world where it was spent NOT having to deal with stuff that doesn’t matter in the overall grande scheme of things. Imagine a world where your brain is free to create. Playing politics is exhausting. Feeling like you are trying to be controlled is exhausting. Being fearful of those in power is exhausting. All of this stuff takes energy that could be spent trying to solve these complex problems that we face in society today. It’s the same idea that Heath and Heath (2010) discuss in that self-control is an exhaustible resource. They talk about self-control as a broad concept in that you are in situations where “you are careful and deliberate with your words or movements” (p. 6). Our ability to create and innovate is being diminished because of the energy spent worrying about things that won’t solve the problems and opportunities we face in the world today. Organizations such as these restrict the potential of all our employees—it boxes them in and tells them not to draw outside the lines (while at the same time saying they value innovation and the voices of all—talk about a confusing, lose-lose situation).

 I’ve had work experiences where I’ve come home to my spouse and said “you won’t believe what happened today” and this usually has to deal with injustices, inequity, ethics, petty politics, etc. What if I got to come home and say “I’m creating this, I’m thinking about this, I get to be part of this and it’s exciting and energizing.” 

 I appreciate Bryant’s (2020) article because I believe conversations like this should happen more often because with changes like this comes culture shifts. These shifts equate to a complete paradigm change of how we view work and its purpose. Changes in these types of systems and structures can give rise to equity within our workplaces. They can promote the voices of all and empower employees to use their individual talents to address some of our most complex problems. We free them of the worry about things that ultimately don’t matter and we promote collaboration—we allow them the autonomy to be innovative, opinionated, and part of the solution. 

 So, let’s start re-thinking all this—leadership, management, our reward systems, our systems of accountability, the way we do work, what we spend time doing at work (this includes meetings!) because I think we can do better. In fact, I think we could change our organizations to help change the world.

Let me pose these questions to you all- where and how do we start? How do we create a paradigm shift in the workforce? What conversations do we need to start having in our depts, organizations, etc. to start this?

 

Resources:

 Bryant, A. (2020). Is it time to retire the title of manager? Retrieved from https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Is-it-time-to-retire-the-title-of-manager?gko=e5846&utm_source=itw&utm_medium=itw202001204&utm_campaign=resp

 Heath, C. & Heath, D. (2010). Switch: How to change things when change is hard (chapter 1). Retrieved from https://heathbrothers.com/books/switch/

Helping Individuals Find Meaning in Their Job

Understanding our meaning of work is hard! So while we figure it all out, what can we do in the meantime to make our situations better?

What can we do in our groups or teams to perhaps make individuals more engaged and satisfied with their role and responsibilities that doesn’t require much time or resources?

Managers/supervisors can start by having informal conversations with individuals about what they don’t find meaningful in their job, or what aspects of their job does not provide any meaning. What even might be demeaning to them? What areas are they not satisfied with? What about their current work setting/job do they dislike?

Then ask them why, and what would make it better?

It’s important during this meeting to not get defensive and to not attack each other personally because you as the manager want to build trust to have these kind of open and honest conversations. Ultimately, you want the individuals in your group/team to be engaged in their job. It benefits them to decrease stress and frustration so they are happier and healthier. It benefits the organization because they’ll be engaged and performance will be increased. As the manager, you need to practice or role play these conversations ahead of time so that you can respond appropriately and not get defensive. You are probing and actively listening during these conversations. You are trying to understand your employees situation and how to make it better.

Remember, language is extremely important!

Individuals that are meeting with their manager regarding this type of conversation should plan ahead what they want to say, and how they want to say it. Think about the language that you can use so that you are not ‘personally’ attacking your manager. Think about your areas of dissatisfaction or lack of meaning in terms of processes, structures, and systems. We often can’t change someone else’s behavior, but we can change or improve upon processes, systems, and structures within an organization or even department. How you frame these areas for improvement is critical! You want action, you don’t want your manager to stop listening.

Have specific examples of each of these areas as well, so you can make sure the manager fully understands what you are explaining. Brainstorm and do some research on how YOU would address it to make it better. Give yourself a voice in the solution! Make your manager easily see the need and importance of the improvement.

Then discuss together what you all have control over improving or changing, and then prioritize the list. There will ultimately be changes that stem from the organizational level, but for the time being we want to focus on what we can work on NOW.

The goal is to have some action items that can start being improved. By having these open and honest conversations, trust is built—and a voice is given to employees on how to improve their jobs. There is a lot of satisfaction in being listened to, realizing your manager cares, and having a voice in the solution.

Introducing the Meaning of Work Tool

Greetings! It's been awhile since I've posted anything to the blog, but I am excited to share that I have created a Meaning of Work tool. I was motivated to create this tool based on my findings from my dissertation. It is informed by both research and theory in it's development. 

My hopes are that the tool can be used to help individuals and organizations understand the meaning of work. You may wonder, why is this important? For individuals, the nature of work and our relationship with organizations has changed over the decades. We are in complete control of our career development and creating our paths to reach our ultimate goals- whether it's to find meaningful work, to pay our bills, or a combination of both. This tool can help individuals reflect on and create an action plan for their current and future career development. I believe that the more control we take over our career development, the more empowered we feel as overall individuals. 

For organizations, we often implement one-size-fits all programs, systems, and structures. Why? Perhaps, its easier- but does it work? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to understand our employees on a much deeper, intrinsic level? That way we can understand why they work, and what work means to them. We can use that information to inform the types of programs we implement, and how we can increase and measure performance. For example, flexibility might mean different things to different employees- what works for one, might not work for another which is unfair and creates tension. Therefore, let's give employees a voice and help create ownership over company initiatives. 

For more information on the Meaning of Work tool, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

 

Millennials in the Workforce: Over-hyped and Under-understood

Research on Millennials is inconsistent. This inconsistency exists in the range of birth years used to define this cohort, as well as the findings that report work related values and characteristics that these individuals encompass. We need to continue to try and understand this generation, but to do so we must continue to conduct thorough research with individuals in the cohort. Until we have conclusive results, I find it somewhat concerning that organizations are spending large amounts of money on a phenomenon that we have yet to fully comprehend. 

Another perspective is that perhaps this generation is part of a bigger phenomenon that is taking place in society. During the 1950’s Karl Mannheim conceptualized a theory of generations from a sociological framework. He suggested that generations have the ability to create or modify culture by moving the process of social change forward. Perhaps, we should view the Millennial generation phenomenon (and all that encompasses) as a tipping point in society towards a paradigmatic shift in our perceptions and beliefs of work and the role it can and should serve in our lives. For example, an abundant amount of research suggests that that Millennials are seeking out meaningful work and work-life balance. These concepts are not exclusive to this generation. In fact, Nancy Morse and Robert Weiss conducted a study in 1955 and they found that work served more of a purpose for employees than just an economic means. Similarly, research has shown throughout the decades that our view of work, work values, and what motivates us at work has continued to evolve. However, what have not continued to evolve are organizational practices and policies. Many organizations are still implementing practices and policies that were designed during the industrial revolution. We must ask ourselves if these policies and practices are still relevant and effective in 2017. I would suggest that based on the increase of job dissatisfaction and turnover that many are not and need to be re-visited. Employees have voiced their concerns of work-related practices for years. While these concerns contributed to the need and momentum for change, the effort was not yet strong enough for organizations to be forced to take notice.  The size of the Millennial cohort, their ability to voice their opinions extensively, and the hype created by the media has all served to establish this phenomenon as the tipping point to push the cause forward for improved workplace conditions and environments.

My recommendation to companies trying to reduce turnover and increase happiness is not to assume that just the entry of Millennials into the workforce is the root of their organizational problems. A generational approach to existing problems only provides one lens, or perspective, into the multi-faceted and complex notion of work. Using only one lens to inform our policies and practices is relying too heavily on generalization, assumptions, and stereotyping. An organization is a complex, living system. If a system does not evolve then it gets left behind. We have to think about how increased turnover rates and happiness can possibly be the consequence of more systemic problems. The Millennials are just one voice calling for improved workplace conditions. We need to elicit as many voices as possible to understand the various perspectives of work and how to best address the problems that leadership and employees are facing in their organizations. I recommend that organizations spend their resources on trying to understand all of their individual employees (across all generations and positions) within their organizational context/culture. What works in one organization may not work in another. Instead of implementing one-size-fits all policies and practices on employees, organizations should take the time to conduct a thorough up-front analysis with them. Interventions should then be designed and developed based on these findings, and then continuously assessed and evaluated.

Organizations should seek to understand how their employees view work, how they define it, and what is important to them in their job. They should understand what these concepts really mean and look like to their employees as differences can stem from individual responsibilities and priorities. These recommendations can help create a more holistic perspective of the organization so that problems can be appropriately and systemically addressed. The ultimate goal should be to design structures, jobs, programs, and policies that help develop all employees and increase organizational effectiveness. By doing so, we will create dynamic, innovative, and sustainable organizations that are flexible and adaptable to the changing nature of work and our evolving relationship to it. Then maybe we can decrease turnover and increase overall happiness at work among all employees.

References:

Mannheim, K. (2000). The problem of generations.  In P. Kecskemeti (Ed.) Essays on the sociology of knowledge: Collected works (Vol. 5, pp. 276-320). New York: Routledge. (Original work published 1952).

Morse, N. C., & Weiss, R. S. (1955).  The function and meaning of work and the job.  American Sociological Review, 20(2), 191-198.

Employees are a company's greatest asset: says many, practiced by few

We often see media coverage of how employees are becoming not only increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs, but with management/leadership in organizations as well. In my opinion, this level of dissatisfaction stems from deeper systemic issues that are taking place not only in our organizations, but in society as well. If it wasn't for the hard work and effort that individuals at all levels provided in their jobs then our organizations would not be performing (and profiting) as well as they do. But, how often do leadership and management stop to reflect on this important point? Probably not often enough. I've created a list of nine areas that organizations could reflect on and pay more attention to for the purpose of providing a better and more effective working environment that focuses on increasing employee satisfaction. The nine areas include: expectations, role of power, lack of accountability, values, transparency, cost of high performance and who benefits (and suffers), hiring process, reward systems, and trust. The first area is included below. Each will be discussed in separate blog posts.

1) Expectations need to be in alignment and fair for both the employee and the organization

We often hear that 1) employees are expecting too much from their work, and 2) employees need to leave their personal lives at the door when coming to work.  For most of us we spend at least approximately 2000 hours a year working. Yet, individuals are told that they have unrealistic expectations regarding wanting to find meaning and fulfillment in their jobs. In fact, individuals should go to work, do their jobs, and lower their expectations regarding what the organization/work can and will provide them. By doing so, they will be happier. In addition, no matter what is happening in our personal lives (family, school, hobbies, etc.) it should not affect our work. We need to leave that "stuff" at the door. Yet, organizations are expecting employees to give their full 100% everyday at work and to not leave their work at the door when they go home. This mis-alignment of expectations is a double standard. This does not create a win-win situation for the employee (only the organization). There needs to be negotiation and an understanding of expectations from both sides. If we are expected to be on call and checking (and responding) to emails outside of work then organizations must realize that our personal lives may need to be attended to during work. In addition, why is it unrealistic for individuals to want to find meaning and fulfillment in their work? Management and leadership could ask employees how they can help them create meaning and fulfillment in their work/job/tasks.This expectation should be celebrated in the sense that organizations could also benefit from employees that are passionate, engaged, and motivated by the work that they do.  If organizations are setting high expectations, it only seems fair that employees should be able to  do the same.

The Dangers of Running with Solutions

One of the problems facing organizations is creating and sustaining a culture that develops and embraces sound problem-solving and decision-making abilities and skills. When a problem occurs in an organization, management and leadership are quick to "run with solutions." An all too familiar situation is when an organization has identified a problem and quickly starts brainstorming solutions to address it without first understanding how, where, and why the problem occurred. When this happens the situation is dangerous because these "solutions" are based  on pre-assumptions and pre-biases of what went wrong. Consequently, organizations end up implementing a solution that might or might not effectively and appropriately address the root of the problem. This could result in a waste of organizational resources and a decrease in individual, group, process, and/or organizational performance. Without properly diagnosing the root of the problems and implementing interventions that appropriately addresses them the company gets "stuck" in a dangerous cycle of perpetually being in a re-active state. Organizations need to take the time to thoroughly diagnose problems for sound decision-making and develop solutions that are evidence based. By doing so, the gains will be long-term instead of just short-term. Organizations need to focus on developing these problems-solving and sound decision making abilities and skills to employees at all levels. By doing so, leaders develop a culture that values continuous improvement efforts, empowers their employees to address performance gaps without fear of retaliation, and builds the foundation to be able to pro-actively address problems.