“You can either try to get people on board with your culture, or you can build the culture that people want to get on board with. Which is it going to be?” I asked.

Since Miguel called this meeting, everyone was looking at him. The silence was working its discomfort. I broke the group into teams of two. Erica’s team was the first out of the gate.

“I don’t think you can talk people into it. The culture has to make personal sense and they have to believe it is really true. People can smell a pig no matter how much lipstick is on it.”

“What do you mean, it has to make personal sense?”

“I mean the values of the company have to be close to the values of the person. If there is a conflict, either the company has to change or the person has to go find another company.”

“Do you think culture comes from values?” I continued to probe.

Erica wasn’t sure where this was going, but she had already stuck her neck out. “I think culture is the collected values of every person who is a member of the group. The collected values govern the behavior of the group. It sets the expectation, creates the environment in which we work.”

“So, would you agree that the first conscious step toward a positive culture is to actively collect the values of each member of the group?” I stopped. “A little scary, perhaps. Until we collect the values, we can get away with ambiguity. Once we collect the values, there is no place to hide.”
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“They work because they have to,” Vicki repeated.

“Let me change a word,” I replied. “They work because they need to.”

“Well, yeah, same thing.”

“Only if we can talk about the need. What is the need that requires people to work?”

“They have to work, I mean, they need to work because they need the money to survive, to pay their mortgage, make their car payment.”

I shook my head from side to side. “It’s a noble attempt, but there is a deeper need. If you only see the benefit of work as a paycheck, as a Manager, you will be led down the wrong path. For a Manager, that path is miserable and unproductive. As a Manager, that path will cause you to create systems that breed unproductive behavior. So let’s try again. What is the need that requires people to work?”

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
I am trying to balance between when to fire someone and when to keep them on, because they know so much and it would take awhile to train someone new. It seems easier to keep them than to pray the new person will pick up what they need to know to do the position. Or if I know I am going to fire that person, how do I get them to impart the knowledge they have, into system write ups, without them thinking I am going to fire them? I hope this makes sense.

Response:
It makes perfect sense. The perfect sense is that you have a low trust environment and there are a lot of games going on.

First. When did you allow your methods and processes to be developed and not documented? Standard operating procedures are created for the reason you describe. Don’t wait until you have a problem. Start now. Involve your team in the process. You might see changes in behavior when you focus them on “best practices.”

Second. When did you decide that new team members should just “pick up” what they need to know? What happened to your orientation and training program?

This is not a question of balance. This is a question of appropriate managerial leadership practices. The good news is that you can start today, to make the necessary changes.

Next Monday is the Labor Day holiday in the US. See you all next Tuesday. -TF

“What’s at stake here?” I asked. “You seem disturbed by this growing divide in your company, this sense of distrust. Though you may blame it on the economy, the seeds were sown long ago. You didn’t see them, but the trust between managers and team members has always been troublesome. That’s why there are so many consultants and books on management.”

Lindsey grinned. “So, what can I say? What can I do, as a Manager, to create a higher level of trust?”

“I want to drive this discussion deeper,” I started. “Because I am not sure if there is anything you can say that speaks louder than the managerial systems in your company.”

“What do you mean, managerial systems? I mean, I know what a system is. But, do you mean we have systems that create distrust?”

“It’s possible,” I nodded. “Many companies, with the best of intentions, create people systems that work against, precisely, what they are trying to achieve.”

“With this economy, I feel there is a growing lack of trust inside our company. There seems to be a growing divide between management and everyone else,” Lindsey described.

“What do you see, that makes you say that?” I asked.

“Sometimes I think it is just grumbling in the hallway, conversations in the breakroom. I think people are withdrawing, looking out for themselves.”

“People are always governed by their own self-interest. What is different now?”

“It’s just an uneasy feeling I have,” Lindsey replied. “I mean, I know we have had to make some adjustments, some layoffs, some of us, including me, have even taken pay cuts. It’s been a tough time.”

“What can we do, intentionally, consistently, to create an environment where trust can have a chance?” -TF

“And what do you say, to those who remain?”

“Be kind,” Lydia replied. “For those who remain, be kind. Be kind to those who have to leave. Be kind to those around you.

“Be grateful,” she continued. “Give thanks.”
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Tomorrow, the US celebrates the holiday of Thanksgiving. The holiday commemorates a meal of the harvest. Its origin may have been a meal in 1565 in St. Augustine Florida, or another in 1621, Plymouth Plantation. It is a time when families and friends come together to celebrate and give thanks for the world we live in.

Management Skills Blog will return next Monday, December 1, 2008.

“Perhaps we should define the word, work. That might help us better understand why people need to work. What is work?” I asked.

“This is going to be a trick question,” Vicki replied.

I nodded. I had known Vicki for a couple of years. She was used to my trick questions. “It’s only a trick question because you really have to think about the answer,” I agreed.

“If you caught me at my office,” I continued, “leaning back in my chair, arms folded behind my head, feet up on the desk, how would you describe my activity at that moment?”

Vicki grinned, “I could say that you were goofing off, but I know better. You would be thinking.”

“And what would I be thinking about?”

“I don’t know, your next project, how to solve a problem, perhaps thinking about a decision that needed to be made?” she floated.

“Yes, so would you call that work?” I stopped as Vicki nodded in agreement. “And if one of your technicians goes outside to the picnic area for a break, and he isn’t goofing off, what would he be doing?”

I could see Vicki looking for the trick in the question. “Okay, if he is not goofing off, then he is probably thinking.”

“And what is he thinking about?” I asked.

“Well, he is probably thinking about his next project, how to solve a problem.”

“Yes, and so, would you call that work?” -TF