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I finished my presentation and the CEO beamed at me.

‘That’s brilliant,’ he said. ‘It’s great to have confirmation that we are doing all the right things.’

He smiled around at the rest of the assembled executive team, stopping only just short of reaching up to pat himself on the back. Meanwhile, one executive rolled their eyes at another, while three more stared down at the table.

The presentation was called Demystifying and Transforming Workplace Culture. I had offered to do it for the executive team after meeting the People & Culture manager, who was now staring fixedly at the table, at an event the previous month. She had confided in me that the organisation was having significant issues with accountability, performance, morale and retention. This toxic workplace culture was flowing through to bottom line performance. Yet here was the CEO proudly proclaiming that their culture was remarkably good.

Everyone else sitting at that table wanted to call ‘bullshit’. But they either didn’t dare or knew it would be pointless, so they sat in silence which the CEO assumed to signify agreement.

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If we want high performance from team members, we have to set them up for success.

There are two critical things that you, as the leader, can provide make that high performance significantly more likely. They are both free and abundantly available to leaders. 

Both of these ingredients - the bookends of high performance - are misread by most leaders. They believe they are providing much more of them than their teams believe they receive - and that is flowing through to performance and engagement.

What are these mystery ingredients? Surely some sparkling new concept or revolutionary new leadership theory? 

Nope. Clarity and feedback. What is missing isn't leaders knowing about these concepts - it's being able to apply them, regularly, in busy workplaces.

Listen in to hear what clarity and feedback look like when done exceptionally - and for strategies to make them part of your leadership routine.

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Every leader has done it - 'thrown someone in at the deep end.'

But is it the right thing to do? Does it help people grow, sort those who can cope from those who can't, or make them stronger?

Or are those just comforting cliches we use to make us feel better about lazy leadership? Would it be better to work out how well someone can swim and throw them in at the appropriate depth? Perhaps get people wet at the shallow end, teach them to swim and nudge them into deeper waters equipped with the skills and confidence they need to thrive there?
 

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The line between flexible work arrangements and some emerging employee trends is becoming blurred.

On one had, too many employers refuse to offer flexibility because of outdated systems and beliefs - leading to employees being dissatisfied and pushing the boundaries.

On the other hand, insidious trends like quit quitting and being over employed are being used by a small number of employees - leading to cynicism and caution about flexibility from employers.

Who is right? And should flexible working arrangements be a right or a privilege? Listen in to hear what The Culture Nerds think.

Resources referred to in this episode:

The ABC News Article

Business Insider article

The Overemployed website

Previous podcast episodes where we discussed flexible working arrangements:
Truth & Trust
Just to be clear - from Elon Musk

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This epsiode is an audio blog

A theme has emerged in several workplaces we are currently working with to help them shape their culture. Each of these workplaces have solid workplace cultures but are striving to create excellent ones. In each of them, we have been asked the same pair of questions.

The question from the leaders. How much impact do the decisions we make have? Decisions are only intentions, but culture comes down to what everyone does and the choices they make. 

The question from team members. Do our choices actually make a difference? Leaders have all the influence.

In one workplace, a team member described this with an analogy. What’s the point of the separating my recycling if the oil companies don’t change their practices?

Starting with the assumption that everyone wants to work in the best workplace culture possible, both perspectives are valid.

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“If you treat an individual as they are, they will remain how they are. But if you treat them as if they were what they ought to be and could be, they will become what they ought to be and could be.”

Quote by Goethe (with slight modifications to ensure the language is inclusive)

Does the way a leader thinks about a team member impact the way they treat them? Absolutely.
 
And does the way they treat them change the way the team member performs and develops? Again, absolutely.

If we apply Goethe's logic, by thinking about a team member in terms of their potential, we help them fulfil that potential.  Sounds simple, but the reality is that leaders often think about people in terms of first impressions, hearsay, personal compatibility, and a whole raft of other, often superficial, factors.

In this episode we discuss some fascinating research on the Pygmalion Effect, share some examples and observations from our work with organisations, and discuss how leaders can use this understanding to help people become what they are capable of becoming.

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https://reallearning.com.au/podcast/

Have you done an engagement survey in your workplace that suggests that you should find it easy to retain and attract excellent people, everyone should be happy at work, and results should be both excellent and sustained?

Yet, that doesn’t seem to translate to real world outcomes?

That’s because you are expecting the engagement survey to do something it can’t.

Let’s be clear. There is nothing wrong with engagement surveys. What they measure is useful. When they are well designed and credibly tested, they really do measure engagement. 

The problem is that engagement surveys are often (we would even suggest usually) used to measure something they don’t. And can’t. 

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Most people want to work in the best workplace culture possible. Assuming that you don't already have a perfect culture (spoiler alert: you don't) that means change.

The problem many organisations have is that they make knee jerk changes based on what they THINK will be effective. Wouldn't it be better to do things that you KNOW would be effective?  That's why you should measure your workplace culture (and it doesn't have to cost you much - or even anything).

By the way, if you're thinking - we already measure our culture with an engagement survey  - bad news. You aren't measuring your culture which is why some of the things you thought would help, don't.

Listen in for the full story!

Looking to use our free culture measurement tool?

This questionnaire will give you an insight into how aligned your organisation is.

If you answer the questions honestly, it will provide a strong measure of your organisation's culture - and allow us to identify specific areas you could work on.

After completing this questionnaire, you'll receive an overview of how Authentic your workplace culture is and the main challenges you face based on your responses.

You can access the tool here - Is your Organisation Authentic? - The Real Learning Experience

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When people return to work after a break, there are two, and sometimes three, reasons that are driving them to come back.

 1.      They are compelled to because their approved period of leave has ended, and simply not turning up for work is just not an OK thing to do (for most people)

2.      They need to because they don’t have the financial independence to pay the mortgage or rent, put food on the table, and fund their lifestyle without the income

 These two reasons apply in every workplace. From a leadership perspective, they are terrible reasons for people to be coming to work. They add nothing to the workplace experience of team members, the cohesiveness and productivity of the team, or the overall results.

They are about attendance rather than performance. Which brings us to the third reason.

 3.      They want to

 This absolutely does not apply to every workplace. Many managers can’t understand why they only get adequate levels of performance, engagement, and motivation. After all, people are being paid, aren’t they?

 If you are one of those managers, there is a direct link between that thinking and the fact that people don’t really want to be in your workplace. 

 If you want your people to produce exceptional results in the coming year, you need to create an environment in which they WANT TO come to work. Before you decide I am delusional and stop reading, let me be clear. I love my work, but if you offered me a week on a tropical island with my family, I’m going to take. Just because I love doing other things doesn’t mean I don’t also like work. In fact, if your people resent work because it stops them doing the things they love, it’s because they hate work. In what universe can we realistically expect that to lead to high performance?

This audio blog outlines eight tips that will help you, the leader, ensure work is one of the things people like in their lives.

You can read the full blog post here.

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There is a strange dynamic about the end of one year and the start of the next. A disproportionate number of people spend time reflecting on where they are, and how that compares to where they want to be.

That's a great thing - and an opportunity for leaders - except that ... this often translates to new year's resolutions which have a deservedly bad reputation. 

91% of news resolutions don't even survive until mid January - which creates disillusionment and disappointment. 

So what's the opportunity in this for leaders? Whether you are thinking about your own growth for the coming year, or focusing on growing your people (you're doing both, right?) you know something critical. People, including you and your team, are in a reflective and growth oriented mindset - all you need to do is harness with these steps outlined by Kirralea. She uses them as a professional leadership coach - and you can apply them when you decide to add some coaching to your leadership style.

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