Shepherding Employees Through Your Organizational Culture
The phone rang and a manager I had previously worked with was on the line with a familiar dilemma. “Hi Gary,” she said, “I’ve got a situation that I need your help with. I have a brand new employee who is technically strong, but she’s not fitting in here. Here’s what’s happening. She dresses far too casually for this organization’s culture, and she frequently listens to her iPod so loud that she doesn’t hear her own phone ringing. My director has noticed and he has instructed me to send an e-mail to the whole team reminding them of the importance of demonstrating professional behavior at all times. He doesn’t want me to talk to her directly for fear of demotivating a new employee with expertise that we need. What do you think I should do?”
This indirect response (and sometimes lack of any response) to behavior that undermines an employee’s reputation and effectiveness is very common in organizations. Out of fear of demotivating technically strong employees, feedback about unprofessional behavior or underdeveloped interpersonal skills frequently isn’t provided or isn’t provided directly. And there’s a sucker’s choice at the root of it:
“I can talk to my employee directly OR I can avoid damaging the relationship.”
This is a sucker’s choice because it limits solutions and sets them up as mutually exclusive one to the other—I can be direct OR maintain the relationship. To avoid the sucker’s choice, one must get creative and ask “How can I be direct AND maintain the relationship?” or even better, “How might I be direct in putting an end to unproductive behavior AND strengthen the relationship at the same time?” The answer lies in conveying one’s positive intent.
When coaching managers, I help them strengthen relationships with their staff while addressing issues directly. At the end of 20 minutes, I had helped the manager on the other end of the line come up with a plan, which her “indirect” director approved. Here’s how the manager planned to broach the issue with her new employee. “I’m excited to have you as a new member of the team because of your expertise. As your manager, I see it as my role to help you navigate the culture of this organization. There are two things I’ve noticed since you started that don’t work here… Your reputation inside and outside the team is important to me. I want you to be successful.” Her employee was very appreciative of her manager’s directness and caring—the relationship was strengthened.
The preceding story had a happy ending. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for managers to withhold feedback--especially when it’s less directly related to the work, but still reputation affecting. What are the long-term affects on these individuals and organizations?
• Behaviors outside the cultural norms frequently continue unaddressed until reputations are irreversibly damaged.
• Ideas about what’s expected and what’s appropriate may erode as less-than-professional, less-than-positive interpersonal behavior goes unchecked.
• HR is frequently called in at the end of a long painful period to provide the mechanics to “document” an employee with strong technical skills out of the organization when they aren’t successful in the company’s culture.
All of this can be avoided when managers provide early and direct feedback to employees, feedback that strengthens rather than harms relationships between manager and direct report.
What can you do in your organization?
1. Communicate your expectations to your managers: they are responsible for shepherding employees through the organizational culture. They must provide guidance early on to new employees to ensure their success, not just on job tasks, but on anything that affects their employees reputations and therefore effectiveness.
2. Provide skillbuilding for your leadership group so they are skilled at addressing unprofessional behavior, interpersonal skill deficiencies, and behaviors that are simply outside the predominant company culture.
If you would like to ensure employees with strong technical skills are successful in your organization, make sure their managers are helping them navigate the culture from day one. Contact Gary Ford for assistance in implementing leadership development programs that build these competencies within your management group.
