How often do organizations go through the formal step of defining a corporate values statement and then let it remain just another item to check off a list? When organizational values like integrity, respect, collaboration, and trust don't actually reflect what people experience at work every day, organizational culture suffers. Leaders lose credibility when they only pay lip service to the values.
A deteriorated culture can have disastrous consequences, and there have been major tragic events over the years that have been rightly attributed to organizational culture, such as the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, the Brumadinho Dam disaster in Brazil, and more recently Boeing’s frequent accidents.
An organization's culture is best thought of as “how things get done.” The key factors that give it definition are upward communication, trust in leadership, organizational support, and perceptions of justice. Yet few leaders can honestly say they know what decisions and actions affect these factors.
The most influential force in establishing an organization's culture is the decisions of leadership. Leaders need to be sensitive to the impact their decisions have on elements of the organization's culture.
Indeed, if an organization’s stated values are integrity, respect, cooperation, and trust, then leaders must learn to reflect them through their actions:
1. Encourage upward communication.
Leaders get the information they need to make decisions from those closest to the ground. But leaders often only want the good news. Organizations quickly learn to avoid telling the truth about what's really going on. The consequences become clear when unexpected results occur.
What you can do: Rethink what you want to hear by asking the right questions and learning how to listen: “What is the most important challenge you are currently working on?” “What obstacles stand in your way at the moment?” “What is your strategy for solving them?” Replay and fully understand what you hear. Be ready to know the real story without blaming the person who told it.
When visiting plants, Paul O'Neill, Alcoa's CEO at the time, would give out his cell phone number and tell plant employees, “If you have a safety problem that you can't solve, just call me.”
2. We provide support to help you achieve your goals.
Leaders need to ask themselves if they show genuine interest in their employees, ask for real feedback on progress, and listen for opportunities to offer support. Without genuine support, issues will be left unattended and decisions will be made with only partial understanding.
What you can do: Make a distinction between evaluating performance and offering support. Both are important, but the prominence of the former reduces the likelihood of the conversation you want to have. When two people speak openly, collective intelligence kicks in, and mutual respect makes the conversation better.
The crucial conversation starts with the question, “How can I help you?” or “What do you need?” Create an atmosphere that welcomes the real conversations that need to happen.
After the Space Shuttle Columbia malfunction, which was directly related to upward communications, NASA leaders were taught to ask in meetings, “Is there another perspective in this room on this subject?”
3. Promote organizational justice.
The perception that decisions that affect you will be made fairly is a central element of a strong, effective culture of getting things done effectively. The fundamental principle at work here is reciprocity, meaning that you tend to react in a way similar to how you are treated.
What you can do: Oftentimes, leaders don’t understand the impact a decision will have on the perception of fairness within their organization, and therefore on the culture. It may not be what they do that matters, but how they do it.
For example, an executive is fired. The decision was made carefully and was well justified in the best interest of the organization. However, what the organization remembers (its culture) is how It was done. Was it an act of respect or humiliation?
When I hear stories like this how They managed change as much or more than the change itself.
4. Building trust.
A CEO's ability to inspire trust is essential to a culture that supports high performance. A leader's actions and decisions impact trust depending on whether they are authentic or genuine.
Trust means a level of confidence or a level of integrity: “I know she can do what needs to be done” or “I know she is a person of character.” Both are important, and both have strong cultural implications. Neither can be faked for long.
What you can do: Think about leaders you trust both in ability and character. What do they have in common with leaders you trust less? Being committed to the best interests of the organization is a fundamental principle, even when it's not fun, and upholding ethical standards in principle and action is also a fundamental principle.
Leaders create the culture of their organizations moment by moment. When their words correlate with their decisions and actions, and their decisions demonstrate that their values are truly embedded in them, they are building a high-performing organization where people thrive.
