A CULTURE ONCE POISONED TAKES WORK
- Mar 6
- 3 min read
By Doug Lawrence
Maybe I am somewhat paranoid, but I sense that a lot of organizations have work to do on their culture. I guess to some it would sound as though I am a broken record, but for some reason I can’t sit idly by and watch good people and great organizations not be successful because of a poisoned culture. Now as you are reading this you are likely thinking well this does not apply to me or the organization that I am working at. Everything is just fine where I work and I am “okay!”
Funny thing is that I hear that a lot and then when we start to do a discovery or exploration session we find that there is a lot of poison in the workplace and it has been there for quite a while.
The sad part of all this is that in a lot of cases the leaders/managers knew this was going on and decided to just bury their heads in the sand and ignore it. If we do not acknowledge that it is there then it isn’t happening. I like to call this the “ostrich syndrome”! If we ignore, maybe it will go away. In actual fact what is taking place is that the good workers are going away as they recognize that there are likely better organizations to work for where the culture is more supportive. Why is it that the good ones always leave – well because they can! They are highly marketable and will never have a problem in getting a job elsewhere. What does that leave you with??? You still have a poisoned culture and now you are going to begin to feel, if you haven’t already the impact of disengaged employees and lost productivity.
I get frustrated when I see good people leave an organization because of the culture – because the culture is something that we can fix. In today’s tight labour market this is a time bomb waiting to explode. Do you want it to explode in your organization?
Another thing that I find interesting is that most employees who have a lot of negative energy seem to find the time to complain about their co-workers or how things are being run in the company, or a number of other things. We are very good at identifying problems but none of these people every bring solutions to the problem. Do we realize how much time is being spent on being negative rather than focusing on the job – being productive – setting a positive example – supporting our co-workers – finding solutions to problems? It is easier to be negative than it is to be positive. For everything that you identify as a negative, I can find a positive in it for you. So if I can do that, why is it so hard for you to do that and help make your organization a positive place to work?
Organizations today need to take a hard look at their culture as they may well have that time bomb ticking away within. If you keep your head buried in the sand and choose to ignore what is going on that bomb is going to explode!
You can take steps to diffuse the bomb and ensure that you retain your employees by having a mentoring culture – one that is focused on people! Your people are the heart and soul of your organization – focus on them and you will be successful. With a strong mentoring culture and supported by the people within your organization you will become an employer of choice, your customers loyal, and your bottom line impressive.
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