Category Archives: Organizational Culture

Empowerment, Engagement, Innovation, Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Organizational Culture, Teamwork, Trust

Stifling Employee Engagement

2 Comments

sport_football_culture

Stifling Employee Engagement

“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” — Simon Sinek

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

Employee Engagement

Employees want to be challenged, to have control over their work tasks, and have the opportunity to continue increasing their knowledge and skill set. When employees feel fully engaged they become emotionally committed to working hard in the best interest of the organization.

Are You Stifling Employee Engagement?

Do the employees throughout your organization know that they share in the success of the organization? If you want your employees to do more than just show up to work, you must consciously develop a culture that engages them in their work and shows appreciation for the contributions they make to the success of the organization. Watch out for these management behaviors that stifle employee engagement.

Unsupportive culture

Corporate culture affects performance and contributes to the social control that influences the way employees behave and make decisions. Culture bonds individuals together on a social level to make them feel included in the experience of the organization. Engagement must become part of the culture. When employees enjoy their work and the environment they work in they are more loyal, innovative, provide better customer service, and strive to continually improve the organization.

Out-dated view of work

In the early 20th century, Fredrick Taylor pioneered scientific management. This form of management focused on production and breaking projects into tasks. Employees could then be trained to specialize in a specific task. Taylor emphasized efficiency, control, and predictability. This view of leadership treated employees like instruments that leaders could manipulate. The focus of leadership was on the needs of the organization and not those of employees.

Times have changed; as employees become more educated and skilled, their desire to participate in the leadership and decision-making process increases. High performing employees expect the opportunity to participate and be independent. Your employees are the core of your product or service. They should find their work to be fulfilling and meaningful. If you want your employees to be engaged in their work, you should reevaluate and make adjustments to how you view work.

Lack of investment

Employee engagement requires the investment of resources to continually develop employee knowledge and skills. Talented employees want to continuously improve themselves. As a leader, you must focus on their development and offer them meaningful opportunities to contribute to the organization.

Lack of commitment

A culturethat supports employee engagement requires full commitment from management since that’s where the responsibility for employee engagement falls.Spend time helping employees succeed. Make sure you, as a leader, and your employees are committed to the right things.

Lack of inspiration

When employees do not feel inspired by those who lead them they will not be fully engaged in the organization. Employees are motivated by shared trust, values, and purpose. By developing and maintaining trusting relationships you can inspire individuals to collaborate, share knowledge, and contribute to the development of new organizational knowledge. Let employees know, through your words and actions, why they should work for you. Be a source of inspiration.

Take-Away

Employee engagement is dependent on commitment from management, a supportive culture, training, and empowerment. Provide employees with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to deliver a value that exceeds expectations. Remember that employees who are emotionally committed to the organization want to contribute. Give them the tools and opportunities to make the meaningful contributions that benefit them on and individual level and the organization as a whole.

© 2014 Elizabeth Stincelli

Communication, Employee Morale, Leadership, Morale, Organizational Culture

The Killing of Employee Morale

The Killing of Employee Morale

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” — Henry Ford

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

The Importance of Employee Morale

We all know that happy employees are productive employees. Content employees are less likely to waste time their own time as well as that of their co-workers. They are more engaged in their work and feel they have a vested interest in achieving company goals.

        Are We Killing Employee Morale?

Morale can prove to be fragile. One poorly handled situation or unpopular decision by management can send morale spiraling out of control. Here are a few factors that can kill employee morale.

                       Lack of Communication

When we don’t have all the information, we fill in the blanks with our imagination. And, our imagination can come up with some pretty terrifying scenarios. Lack of communication often leads to assumption and fear. Communicate with your employees. Share the current position of the organization and the vision for the future. Discuss strategic plans and the rationale behind the plans. And, most importantly, communicate the vital role that each one plays in the success of the organization.

                       Lack of direction

Employees want to be part of a successful team. But success is hard to achieve when you are not sure what direction you are supposed to be going or what success looks like. As leaders, it is our responsibility to make sure employees have the direction and tools necessary to achieve success. Make sure employees have a clear understanding of the objectives that the organization is working towards. Paint an encouraging picture of what success looks like. It is your responsibility to serve as a facilitator. Help establish goals, set parameters, provide them with the information, resources, and the direction they need, then, get out of their way and let them find the best way to do their jobs.

                       Lack of a voice

Gone are the days of employees who are content to work, day in and day out, like mindless robots. Employees want to be heard. They want a say in how their organizations are run and the freedom to design their work, their way. Employees know what’s happening on the front lines. They know what works and have great ideas. As leaders, we must engage them in conversations where we ask questions and really listen to their answers. We must also involve them in developing solutions to organizational problems.

                        Lack of trust and respect

Relationships that are built on trust and respect are the mechanisms we use to influence others. If you lack the trust and respect of your employees, they will follow you by force, not by choice. Earn trust and respect by showing that you are committed to your vision and that your words and actions are congruent. Your character will show in the values you live by, make sure you choose them carefully. Always keep your word, be fair, and consistent. Show your employees that you genuinely care about each one as an individual. Lead by example. And, prove yourself competent but not arrogant.

                       Lack of acknowledgement

Employees want to know that they are valued and their efforts matter. By simply acknowledging that we appreciate an employee’s contributions, we create loyalty and encourage continued hard-work. Tell your employees thank you. Say “good job, the team couldn’t have done it without you.” Make an employee’s day by simply giving them the credit they deserve.

        Take-Away

When morale is good, employees are more motivated, engaged, creative, and efficient. As leaders, we must develop healthy operating environments where we avoid morale killing behaviors. The skills and character traits that allow us to avoid these behaviors also strengthen our abilities as leaders.

Change Management, Leadership, Organizational Culture, Teamwork

Organizational Culture Stumbling Blocks

6 Comments

 

Organizational Culture Stumbling Blocks

“Even those who fancy themselves the most progressive will fight against other kinds of progress, for each of us is convinced that our way is the best way.”— Louis L’Amour

 By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

         A Healthy Culture

The culture of our organization serves as the foundation with which we build all other structures that allow us to accomplish our organizational objectives. A healthy culture is the result of continuous evaluation and development. As we work towards improving our organizational culture, we often encounter stumbling blocks. These stumbling blocks result in lost time and frustration. But, if we can recognize them, we can overcome them.

       Stumbling Blocks

While the list is many, here are a few of the stumbling blocks that can affect our ability to improve the culture of organization.

               Lack of trust

Lack of trust in the boss does not necessarily mean loss of trust. If you have lost the trust of your employees, struggling to improve your organizational culture is only one of your many problems. If your employees do not trust you, they will not follow you. Lack of trust, on the other hand, often stems from the perception that you are unable to identify with the issues of your employees at their level. Employees are leery of supporting initiatives that have been designed from a top-down perspective. Get out on the floor, talk to your employees, roll-up your sleeves and work with them. See the world from their point-of-view. When employees trust that you are setting the cultural GPS based on the view from their level they are far more likely to give you their full support.

                “It’s not my job”

The “it’s not my job” mentality can become like a contagious disease once it sets in, spreading through your organization like wildfire. This type of attitude prevents the development of a cohesive, supportive, helpful, encouraging work environment. This negative environment is not conducive to any type of positive cultural growth. Our organizations benefit when we have an adaptable, flexible workforce. As leaders, we need to educate our employees on the benefits of developing new skills, gaining new knowledge, and sharing our skills and knowledge with others. We must set clear expectations and then empower employees to take ownership for their work. The change in mindset will do wonders for your company’s culture.

                       Lack of empowerment

Employees who are not empowered feel that they have little or no control over their own work. This results in lack of engagement and low morale both of which will have a negative impact on organizational culture. By empowering employees, we provide them with discretion and independence over their work, a belief that their work is important and has meaning, that they are seen as competent to perform well, that they are active participants, and their actions and decisions matter. Empowering employees requires us, as leaders, to trust our employees and to take the risk of allowing those employees to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Empowered employees are more optimistic about the contributions that they can make to the organization. Their optimism is contagious and that is always good for organizational culture.                

                Negative internal politics

Negative internal politics result in distrust and fear. Anytime your employees feel they have to question the motives, words, or actions of upper management you are going to struggle to get anything accomplished. The best solution to this problem is authenticity and communication.

        Take-Away

These stumbling blocks hinder our ability to develop and maintain an organizational culture that supports the vision and goals necessary in a business environment where innovation and agility are key factors to success. These same stumbling blocks affect many other aspects of leadership. Over the next few weeks we will look at other facets of our organizations and some of the other obstacles we encounter.