At this point in my career, I’ve experienced several kinds of workplaces: the 10-person startup, the small company on the brink of scaling, the all-remote agency with global clients, the large private company with U.S. branches and the nonprofit sector.
HR or no HR, they’ve all had their culture moments—good and bad.
I’ve seen a company switch from scratching their heads at high turnover rates to cultivating happy, top performing teams. But I’ve also seen a bad culture eat an organization alive.
Whether you’re drafting your pros and cons list or asking what you can do about the three other people who just left, here are my top 4 culture killers and what to do about them:
- Secret keeping.
- The “work hard, work hard” style.
- A foggy chain of command.
- Invisible leaders.
1. Secret keeping
Silos, rumor mills, cliques … These are the cracks in the foundation that bring the whole house down. And they can start with a lack of transparency.
Do you hear about big meetings concerning the future of the company but you’re never invited? Are you frequently told that “X is in progress” only to never hear about it again?
Sometimes, hard decisions need to be handled with care in respect to the individuals involved. But what I’ve seen too often is leaders trying to control what their employees think and do about hard facts.
For example, sugarcoating the fact that your company is struggling is likely a fool’s errand. (I’ve been there. We knew we were sinking.)
Instead of trying to control what people know because “information is power,” think about the amazing things people can do when they’re empowered by your information.
Here are some places to start:
- Invite people to meetings that affect them and encourage them to speak up. You’ll find innovation often comes from unexpected places and nontraditional perspectives.
- Tell people what’s going on and be genuine about it. You can’t control how your employees receive facts. If they want to leave, they will. But withholding information will cause otherwise-committed employees to seek answers elsewhere, imagine the worst and make exit plans.
- Ask people for their ideas and follow through where it makes sense. Not every new process or policy needs to be polished before people see it, as long as you’re open about where it’s at and what it’s for. You’d be surprised how people receive the chance to build something intended for their own long-term use.
2. The “work hard, work hard” style
Imagine being in the room when your company’s VP says to be promoted, you should come in on your vacation and skip your child’s birthdays.
This really happened. (It did not go over well.)
While the phrasing in this case was particularly sensational, the rationale behind it is a common disconnect. Here’s the dilemma: A leader sees individuals slaving on their projects and feels obligated to acknowledge their hard work in front of others.
In the process of doing so, they inadvertently discredit everyone who works hard while prioritizing their work/life balance, reward unhealthy, unsustainable behavior and set a toxic standard for what drives upward mobility in the organization.
Reversing this problem starts with something that many people have a hard time doing: Trusting their employees.
Try taking on these behaviors:
- Approve sick time when you don’t know what it’s for. Obviously, a week of sick time is a little different from a day or two. I’m talking about the latter. The prior is why you should have policies, benefits and guidance around extended sick leaves.
- Trust they will get the work done—even when you can’t see or hear them. Any leader who denies the validity of remote working after the pandemic has a responsibility to their employees to educate themselves on the subject. Also, no employee performs better under micromanagement.
- Give people room to explain shortcomings. When something goes wrong, give your employee a chance to explain. Treat it as an opportunity for both of you to clarify miscommunications, clean up a process or better understand one another’s working styles.
- Talk about mental health and work/life balance. Culture is about people and people talk about what matters to them. So ask people when their next vacation is. Encourage people to take breaks, lunches and mental health days. Make everyone feel comfortable bringing it up in a meeting.
- Reward the right behaviors. Thank employees for working overtime but don’t put them on a pedestal in front of others for it. Instead, ask them how you can help them in the future and think of ways to give back the time they lost. Focus on rewarding the employees who find ways and develop systems to be more efficient. And celebrate the wins that happen during normal work hours—they’re important.
- Walk the walk. If you’re the leader who never takes a day off and tells everyone you’ll be online later as you walk out the door every day, you’re not walking the walk. Not only are you setting the wrong tone for others but you’re also doing them a disservice by overextending yourself. Your best work can’t run on fumes.
3. A foggy chain of command
“We don’t use titles here.” Ever heard that one before?
Years ago, I probably would’ve entertained the concept of ditching hierarchy in the workplace. On paper, it sounds inclusive. In actuality, it creates a lot of confusion and frustration.
When you don’t have a designated decision-maker, accountability deteriorates. Channels of communication are muddied because no one knows who has the final say on something. And upward mobility becomes a gray area, despite employees knowing other people are paid more and they’d like to be.
It becomes difficult not only for employees to do their jobs but also for them to understand how they’ll build their future within the organization. Worst of all, a lack of checks and balances makes your organization more susceptible to toxic issues like favoritism and nepotism.
What you can do:
- Create an organizational chart. When a project needs to get done, it’s to the employee’s benefit to know who they should be communicating with and when.
- Communicate an “open door” policy. A known chain of command can be an open one. Leaders can still create a culture where everyone has a voice.
- Teach people what others do and know. Every employee was hired to do something and has valuable skills. Create opportunities for different disciplines to learn about the capabilities of one another. For example, it’s extremely valuable for a copywriter to understand when and why they might benefit from speaking with a data analyst.
4. Invisible leaders
Do you know your supervisor’s supervisor? Have you met the CEO or president of your company?
It’s telling when leaders don’t show up to culture-based events. They may feel like it’s unprofessional or intimidating to do so but the truth is that by not showing up, they’re signaling to other employees that culture isn’t a priority.
Regardless of your leadership style, your presence has weight. What you do with that weight matters—so use your gravitas for good.
Being a visible leader also applies to how you show up to meetings and I’m not talking about running them. How do you encourage others to get involved in the discussion? How do you signal that a team member you manage has valuable input?
Here are some ways to stay visible as a leader:
- Read up on psychological safety and how to create it. It is, quite simply, a game changer when it comes to how you lead and build powerful, happy teams.
- Show up to the little stuff and be yourself when you do. There’s a misconception that people expect leaders to always be “on.” I’d challenge that every employee can remember a time when they saw a leader act human and it garnered a special kind of respect. If you show up, and show up authentically, you’re telling people they can do the same. (Just keep it respectful.)
- Make a point with your presence. I’m not saying you should be at every small committee meeting or gathering in the office. But you should definitely be at some of them. Find out when these things are happening and make a point to join every now and then. Being there, if just to listen, will send a powerful message to that group, give you a pulse on the overall culture of your organization and also reveal strengths you didn’t know your employees had.
In summary
Too many good companies and strong teams fail due to poor culture. We owe it to others and ourselves to cultivate happy teams that do incredible things.
My imposter syndrome wants to make it clear that I’ve never run my own company. My experiences are from working at companies and leading teams where the culture improved or declined based on what I’ve shared above.
Feel free to share any alternative thoughts or additional culture killers you’ve experienced (and tips to reverse them, if you have any)!
