Audience: Leaders
Overview: The fourth and final post of my series on the four factors that can devastate a culture when left unaddressed
By: Cynthia Kyriazis, Chief Experience Officer, The Culture Think Tank
“Why bother asking us what we need or want and then not sharing the outcome? I shared my time and thoughts hoping that our leaders will listen but it’s been over 3 months and we still don’t know what, if anything, they plan on doing with the information we gave them. I really feel like I wasted my time and I know I’m not the only one.”
This is a conversation an employee had with me as I was walking into a meeting at their offices. I could feel their frustration as they shared their recent experiences – unfortunately, this story isn’t unique, it’s one we hear all too often.
A wise person once told me employees haven’t tired of taking assessments. They’re tired of not learning the outcomes.
The above is exactly what we see and hear when leaders don’t share the information they garner from any type of company-wide assessment. It’s like saying to someone ‘if you do ‘X’, then I’ll give you ‘Y’, but you never give them ’Y’.‘
Leadership’s failure to act on what employees have shared translates to a failure to care about what the employees need.
The result? Employees feel they wasted their time. Disappointment. And a significant break in trust. Not exactly the feelings you want throughout your organization.
When it comes to our assessment, asking employees to share their thoughts is about one-third of what leaders need to do. Reviewing assessment responses and formulating next steps is another third. The final third involves sharing information. Over time, we have identified what we think employees want to know from their leaders…
Did they listen?
If results aren’t shared, employees justifiably begin to wonder if anyone is listening.
Do they care?
And if they feel no one is listening, the obvious rhetorical question becomes ‘Why did they even ask me?’ This begins to fuel an underlying feeling of distrust. And distrust in any organization can happen quickly and take a long, concentrated effort to turn around…if it can be done at all.
What’s next?
What steps are they taking to address our concerns? We’re talking specifics here, not generalities.
As a leader, what do you need to do to demonstrate you care? When developing a company-wide response, we believe there are three things to share about outcomes that matter to employees.
What We Heard
Acknowledge the top concern employees shared. Why? Because how employees feel is how they behave. Read that again, please.
For example, if the top need employees expressed was for leaders to ‘stop micromanaging’, the action plan may say something like…’What we heard is you would like there to be more clear direction and less micromanagement.‘
What we learned
A great way to begin is with a positive and indicate there’s some work to be done.
For example, ‘Our well-being score is at the contributing level which is great news. We look forward to continuing to improve this score over time to reach a performing level.
Our Next Steps
Identify specific, actionable next step that will take place within a specific timeframe. Keep in mind that the next step can be just one step with additional steps beginning to unfold as time goes along.
For example, ‘We will begin seeking training in the area of delegating based on your feedback. We have begun to identify providers who can help us with this. Our Chief People Officer, Mary Smith, will send out regular updates of our progress in finding a vendor and the next steps involved.’
Being transparent with your assessment’s key outcomes should be something leadership commits to and not as an afterthought. This approach directly impacts the Four Dimensions of Culture we measure: Communication, Trust, Alignment and Accountability. And for those organizations who aren’t doing this, we see the corresponding results.
OK, this wraps up my four-part series on the four factors that can devastate a culture when left unaddressed. I hope you listened, cared, and are taking the next steps to ensure your own organization’s culture is a strong and healthy one now and for years to come.
Miss any of the prior Four Factors Series? Previous articles are below:
Four Factors That Impact Company Culture: Factor 1 – Anxiety
Four Factors That Impact Company Culture: Factor 2 – Lack of Staff Connectedness
Four Factors That Impact Company Culture: Factor 3 – Failure to Ask & Accept Staff Requested Needs
Cynthia Kyriazis is the Chief Experience Officer for The Culture Think Tank. Her experience includes executive coaching, consulting and training.
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