I love it during presentations and workshops when an audience member steps up and makes a point that helps tie everything together with a great example.
I recently found myself as a guest speaker in a good-natured discussion with my audience about the challenges that mid-level managers face in trying to facilitate positive culture change while working in a toxic or at least a less than ideal work environment. I opt for the affirmative in this debate, and often find myself arguing the minority opinion.
I absolutely have strong convictions about the ability of one individual or a small group of individuals to catalyze positive environmental change in the most challenging of environments. However, in spite of my best “glass is more than half-full, you can make a difference, build an island of competence in a sea of insanity pitches,” I sensed from the audience reaction that I was once again on the minority side of this one.
Before describing how an audience member came to my aid and helped turn a smiling but unruly (on this point) crowd around, some background is in order.
Every semester, I am invited to serve as a guest speaker for a course on Creative Leadership, where my book with Rich Petro, Practical Lessons in Leadership, is one of the two featured course texts.
I love this event. It is incredibly gratifying to walk into a room of adult learners and see the book in front of everyone, a bit dog-eared and usually with post-its sticking out from between the pages. And while that’s great, the real thrill comes from engaging with a group of sharp professionals that have spent the past few weeks dissecting the words and leadership concepts that Rich and I labored over a few years ago. Some agree whole-heartedly and others have been waiting to see me and are loaded for bear with questions and the occasional good-natured difference of opinion.
I know from experience that the topic of “What’s a person to do in a tough environment?” will come up every time. Well-intentioned people want make a difference, but often hold back out of fear or a sense of futility or a combination of the two.
In this particular instance, the discussion had progressed for a few minutes and one young woman raised her hand and said something to the effect of, “We did this at my workplace, and while it took time, after several years of working at it from the middle, we have a very different culture now.”
She went on to describe how in a toxic workplace where top leadership seemed to be disengaged, a number of the middle managers got together and decided to start shaping a culture that was decidedly more positive than the current one.
They started by agreeing that it was their responsibility as managers to begin acting and leading in a way that set a positive example for everyone around them. Over time, and with reinforcement, the changes took hold and the working environment evolved into one where teams and individuals focused on learning and achieving.
Great stuff, and if nothing else, she offered hope to the people in the room that wanted to make a difference, but weren’t sure that it was a fight worth fighting or one that they could win.
I would loved to have picked her brain for more details on what went on over the course of the culture transition, but we ran out of time. Nonetheless, the issue for today is not so much the mechanics that moved the culture from toxic to positive, but the fact that it did and that it can.
My take-away from her brief success story comes from where the managers decided to start. They looked in the mirror and recognized that for meaningful change to take place, the responsibility was on their shoulders to set the right example. Instead of complaining or endlessly commiserating with each other, they took it upon themselves to act.
The Bottom Line: Be the Example:
- Our words as leaders are just empty words unless we truly lead by example.
- Start this week and renew your commitment to effective, people-focused and values-based leadership and be the example that you want generations behind you to follow and aspire to as they develop as leaders.
- Treat people with respect. Start by adjusting your priorities to focus on issues of support and substance versus the banal details that rules so much of our professional lives.
- Things go wrong everyday, and today and from this point forward, remind yourself that the height of a problem is the best opportunity for you to lead by example. Resist the urge to shoot first and ask later. Turn these into teaching and developmental opportunities by helping others step up and take their swing at fixing and improving.
- As you walk through the door, shift your focus from one of, “I’m here,” to, “I’m glad you’re here.” Believe me, everyone will notice.
- And as you walk out the door at night, reflect back on the example that you set during this precious day and vow to do better tomorrow.
- And then come back and live up to your vow.
Start today and be the example.
Art,
I read your post with a lot of interest (I read all your posts’ that way.) A friend of mine has an interesting perspective on the situation you’re describing. Like you, Dave focuses on leadership, but he takes a different perspective that might be of interest to you.
Dave talks about the five stages of teams. Briefly, the stages of team development are:
1. Life sucks. (think prison population)
2. My life sucks. (think the DMV)
3. I’m great. (think Bill Lumbergh in Office Space or Steve Jobs)
4. We’re great. (think of any successful sports team, i.e. they compare themselves to others and define themselves by that success.)
5. Life’s great. (think of the Apollo Program sending people to the moon.)
More details:
http://bit.ly/41pvJz
Now, what may interest you and be relevant to the situation you’re discussing above, is that if a team is at stage 2, they will not accept or anything beyond a stage 3 leadership approach.
So, if a team, group or company is at Stage 2 (My life sucks), they can understand and accept someone who comes in and says: “I’m great and I’ll solve this sh*t” That is within their realm of comprehension. But if you walk into a stage 2 situation and say “We’re great”, or anything to that effect, you’ll be rejected as delusional (or something else.)
If someone’s in a toxic environment (stage 2 probably), to get them to the next level, talking positively about the glass being half full, getting fuller, etc. is not going to be helpful. Stepping in and being a George Patten type hero is understandable and appropriate to the situation they find themselves in. And from that platform, (sorry Dave, stage) they can start moving to a more optimistic outlook.
Sorry for plugging my blog and other people’s ideas, but hopefully it’s an interesting perspective.
Andy
Hi Art, Your post reminds me of the words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Middle managers can change the cultural within their span of control, especially when they lead by example.
Small groups of thoughtful, committed middle managers can change the culture in parts of the organizations they control, especially when each manager demonstrates a set of shared principles.
I’m optimistic about changing organizational culture. But this optimism is tempered by experience.
Whenever a manager or a group of managers start acting differently, upper management will notice. They will evaluate whether the direction of the change is good for them and the business.If it isn’t, they will view it is an insurrection. And they will come down on it like a ton of bricks.
So my advice to individual middle managers is to start with small changes that have clear linkages to initiatives from upper management. Gather feedback. Share the results up your management chain. Refine. Roll out more small changes.
Finally, I believe the biggest problem to changing culture is the unwillingness of middle managers to fully support each other. Managers view their colleagues as competition for the next job. I’m sorry to say more serious effort is spent strutting and puffing rather than cooperating and collaborating, which is a poor example for the other people in the organization. Best regards, -Steve
Here are two thoughts, Art.
The language here makes it sound like you have a choice of setting the example. If you’re the leader you don’t have that choice. People will observe you. They will do what you do and what they think you want them to do. The only choice you have is whether you set a good or bad example.
I’ve worked with supervisors and taught supervision for more than twenty-five years. I’ve done research on the difference between great supervisors and the rest. Based on that, I’m sure of two things.
Most people have experienced a great working environment. There are lots of toxic bosses out there, but at least once in their life, most people get a good one. It might as well be you.
If you’re the boss, you will make a difference. You get to decide what kind. I’ve seen great supervisors create islands of excellence in most awful, fetid stinkholes of organizations. It can be done. It might as well be you.
Hi Art.
Very nice post. I completely agree with you that anyone can work to change the culture, and that we all can take on the responsibility for improving the work atmosphere. I’d go even further to say that we all have an obligation to ourselves and our co-workers to improve the environment. Finally, I will say that I don’t think only management can show leadership or change the culture of an organization, the culture is the responsibility of anyone and everyone in a department or organization.
In my eyes there are several ways anyone can work to accomplish change their work environment, no matter what official title an individual holds.
1) encourage and recognize collaboration
2) take pains to “see” people who are contributing
3) celebrate successes
4) have a little fun
5) refuse to entertain negative attitudes
6) respect people
7) allow people to play to their strong suit whenever possible
I am sure this list is not comprehensive. Think of it as a starting place.
Sarah
PS thanks for coming to my class! We loved having you. The students benefitted greatly by using your book, and it is always a pleasure to hear you speak.
Andrew, Steven, Wally and Sarah, I love it when the scope and depth of the comments outstrips the value of the original and you individually and collectively made that happen. Thanks!
Andrew, I always read your post/comments carefully as well. I’m off to check out the suggested link. I like Dave’s perspectives on team formation/development. Much more compelling than the traditional forming, storming, norming approach.
Wally, I respectfully disagree or at least I misunderstand your one comment. You do have the choice of setting the right example. Many managers choose to ignore the reality that they are being watched and judged. Seems like we are disagreeing to agree.
Steven, yep, make the progress with the right business initiatives. I have yet to see even the worst management team come down on people that are working to improve the business and drive numbers the right way. The fact that they have chosen to do it using a different management tone is in my considerable experience, usually not a trigger for squashing the insurrection.
Sarah, I love your 7 suggestions…those are priceless for building a healthy environment. And thanks so much for teaching the book and inviting me to your class!!
Thanks to all for your thoughtful well well-developed ideas.
-Art
Hi Art,
Thanks for the caffeine boost! This post was probably pretty motivating to those who work in a toxic environment, but it was for me too although my company is not all that toxic. I think that the company I work for will actually turn out to be the experience that, Wally describes in his reply, people will look back on and feel was a great working environment.
A challenge I face is that, with such a young and educated (perhaps entitled) work force, a lot of the staff does not have the breadth of experience to understand what a great working environment we really do have. And while their grumblings are for the most part about relatively small issues, these issues do cause people to perceive the work environment as a bit toxic. Any suggestions for how us middle managers with a pretty good hand can help people realize that things ain’t so bad?
Thanks!
Nicole