Executive leader in transformation and change management. Helping leaders make better decisions using people analytics.
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The topic of being "contagious" has been top of mind lately. Social and physical distancing and mask-wearing are part of our new normal. What if we thought about how our values, too, spread through our behavior? Culture is not curated in a vacuum; it evolves and changes over time and it is reinforced or shaped by behavior that is viewed as acceptable, as normal. Depending on where we fall in the workplace hierarchy, some of us have a more direct influence on the shaping of organizational norms.
There is no better measure of the impressions you leave behind than the unsolicited feedback you receive. A long lost grammar school friend recently reached out to me to get reacquainted. The last time I spent any time with her was probably in the eighth grade. Suffice it to say, I am well over 14 years old now and have a couple of kids in that age range myself.
In her note to me, she described what she remembered about me and was curious about my life now. In her note, she recalled what it was like to be around me. Apparently, my 14-year-old self read like this: "super studious, dry humor, quiet, shy, low tolerance for [nonsense] ... a little anxious." OK, I loved that someone remembered me for having a low tolerance for nonsense, but the other stuff? Well, some of it is still true and some of it has evolved over time.
The way we see the world is developed by our experiences, our families and what we observe firsthand. These experiences infect us over time and some of us who are more self-aware might work toward modeling better and inclusive behavior. Organizational culture operates in similar ways. Leaders may want to create certain cultures, but the reality is they need to spread and encourage behaviors that support the overall vision of culture. When you think about how you interact and what you will leave behind, would you change anything about the way your team sees you? Is there a part of your leadership style that would be better served with a mask on?
I'd like to think that I have grown dramatically over the last 30 years. Yes, I was raised by a good family, but I was later influenced by education, working at large and small companies, meeting people with new and different ideas. I've had my share of working with engaging leaders and some experiences that I would not want to repeat or have repeated to others.
All the while, I stayed on my path and continued to seek out leaders who were making a positive impact. Ironically, I learned the most about culture from mediocre leaders. As a career HR professional, I've had my share of difficult conversations but never shied away from them. Experiences and behaviors of both good and bad leadership shaped my approach and style over time. I continuously take inventory of what parts of my leadership style I want to be contagious and what parts would be better served with a mask.
This begs the question of how do we create contagious cultures, not only organizations that spread and model the behaviors that support growth, diversity, inclusivity and engagement but leaders who call out behaviors that contradict it? I've seen great visions and tenets of cultural values — but I've also seen behaviors that don't support the words. Often we get caught up in financial performance, sales targets or utilization and minimize the tolerance of bad behaviors, later to be stunned when culture and engagement suffer.
Change management is hard not because we are trying to boil an ocean; it is hard because as leaders we need to hold ourselves accountable first. That means when we see a bad decision being made or we witness poor behavior, we must challenge it constructively. Cultural transformation is about stopping to understand if the behaviors, decisions or processes that are status quo support the culture we want. This is not easy, unfortunately; it comes with risk.
The risk is real and especially during uncertain times, being risky is not popular. As our economy, community, the marketplace and our organizational cultures evolve over the next year, how can we ensure that we are creating safe spaces, role modeling the right behaviors and holding people accountable?
Leaders who truly desire transformation are intentional in the following ways:
1. They examine internal processes (hiring, promotion, retention, succession planning, etc.) and ask, how are these areas supporting (or not) engagement?
2. They make hard decisions by looking beyond short-term financial gain for longer-term, sustainable growth by engaging people and clients.
3. They create safe spaces for opposing ideas, differences of opinion and feedback and they frequently analyze it.
4. They choose people over profits in cases where the means don't support the endgame on culture.
5. They value diversity in people, experiences and thought.
How contagious are you? Are your behaviors worth spreading?
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