Toxic to Healthy - Three Easy Medicines
Over the past twenty years I have led and managed employees in several different workplaces. Each workplace had a special "feel" crated by the work group and provided a unique management experience. The "feel" of workplaces can be likened to a thermometer measuring temperature. At the low end of the thermometer is the cold toxic workplace, and at the high end is the "hot" healthy workplace. Most workplaces fall somewhere in between the two extremes.
With the ever-growing necessity to do more with less, there is heightened awareness of the "feel" of workplaces. It is a truism today that it you feel good in your workplace, you will be happier and more productive. This understanding has lead to management focus on how to cultivate an environment "feel" that yields maximum returns. In my experience, daily doses of the below actions will improve workplace culture health and allow the thermometer mercury to rise from toxic to healthy. People will feel and work better.
Listen, Listen and Listen Some More
I have learnt that listening is the most essential element of effective leadership. It is also the most neglected. In the past it seemed so basic, but today so many managers listen so poorly. Too often we managers think that we are paid to tell employees what to do and we need to have all the answers. If we do not have the answers, we feel somehow lacking or inadequate. Too often in the past, when listening, I was thinking about my retort rather than listening to what was being said. Only by having a deep commitment to listening intently to others, can you truly identify the will of a group and lead effectively.
Conversations are the way I discover how staff feel and why. I share with other colleagues, and in the process create new understanding in the organization. It is these conversations, inside and outside of the workplace, that are the best mechanism for making change. It is ironic that conversations, that in the past were regarded as a waste of time, are in my experience the best way to make things work better. When people are truly heard, they are validated and feel better about themselves and the workplace.
Inviting Staff to Become Involved
The old way of doing business was the pyramid model in which the boss made the decisions and the workers did what they were told. My many years in the Navy were very much in this "Aye aye sir" model. Through experience I have learned that this approach is not conducive to a healthy workplace. The mercury would bottom out. The best way of doing business is asking those who know the work the best, namely those at the frontline, how they think things could be done better.
I now actively solicit suggestions from the frontlines. The suggestions consistently impress me. When solicited, multitudes of ideas for improvements come forward on a daily basis. Through involving staff in decision-making, and taking into consideration front line feedback, solutions will be better. Staff will be involved in decision-making and from this grows a feeling of involvement and influence. If the ideas come from the front line, there is no question of ownership and buy-in and there will be no need to sell the change.
The Little Things Count the Most
Some of the most memorable things are the little things that people say or do, or conversely the things that people fail to do or say. Last week was a busy one in the office and we managed to move a lot of paper - the weird thing is that I don't recall the success we achieved in moving forward all the paper. What I do recall is the negative comment made when I was five minutes late arriving in the office.
What I have learned through experience is that the little things are the ones that count the most. Through away phrases that I used to use without a second thought can have huge consequences. It is those small things that can make or break you.
Long-term workplace health is only ensured when changes are ingrained into the workplace. Through daily doses of listening, asking people to be involved and paying attention to the little things, employees will feel better about themselves, you will feel better about yourself and the workplace will cultivate that good healthy feeling.
With the ever-growing necessity to do more with less, there is heightened awareness of the "feel" of workplaces. It is a truism today that it you feel good in your workplace, you will be happier and more productive. This understanding has lead to management focus on how to cultivate an environment "feel" that yields maximum returns. In my experience, daily doses of the below actions will improve workplace culture health and allow the thermometer mercury to rise from toxic to healthy. People will feel and work better.
Listen, Listen and Listen Some More
I have learnt that listening is the most essential element of effective leadership. It is also the most neglected. In the past it seemed so basic, but today so many managers listen so poorly. Too often we managers think that we are paid to tell employees what to do and we need to have all the answers. If we do not have the answers, we feel somehow lacking or inadequate. Too often in the past, when listening, I was thinking about my retort rather than listening to what was being said. Only by having a deep commitment to listening intently to others, can you truly identify the will of a group and lead effectively.
Conversations are the way I discover how staff feel and why. I share with other colleagues, and in the process create new understanding in the organization. It is these conversations, inside and outside of the workplace, that are the best mechanism for making change. It is ironic that conversations, that in the past were regarded as a waste of time, are in my experience the best way to make things work better. When people are truly heard, they are validated and feel better about themselves and the workplace.
Inviting Staff to Become Involved
The old way of doing business was the pyramid model in which the boss made the decisions and the workers did what they were told. My many years in the Navy were very much in this "Aye aye sir" model. Through experience I have learned that this approach is not conducive to a healthy workplace. The mercury would bottom out. The best way of doing business is asking those who know the work the best, namely those at the frontline, how they think things could be done better.
I now actively solicit suggestions from the frontlines. The suggestions consistently impress me. When solicited, multitudes of ideas for improvements come forward on a daily basis. Through involving staff in decision-making, and taking into consideration front line feedback, solutions will be better. Staff will be involved in decision-making and from this grows a feeling of involvement and influence. If the ideas come from the front line, there is no question of ownership and buy-in and there will be no need to sell the change.
The Little Things Count the Most
Some of the most memorable things are the little things that people say or do, or conversely the things that people fail to do or say. Last week was a busy one in the office and we managed to move a lot of paper - the weird thing is that I don't recall the success we achieved in moving forward all the paper. What I do recall is the negative comment made when I was five minutes late arriving in the office.
What I have learned through experience is that the little things are the ones that count the most. Through away phrases that I used to use without a second thought can have huge consequences. It is those small things that can make or break you.
Long-term workplace health is only ensured when changes are ingrained into the workplace. Through daily doses of listening, asking people to be involved and paying attention to the little things, employees will feel better about themselves, you will feel better about yourself and the workplace will cultivate that good healthy feeling.
posted by Pete at 7:11 PM
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