Last week, Chris Smith shared three warning signs for EAs who suspect their corporate culture may be getting destroyed. Here are four more, in an edited extract from his book Leadership at 43,000 Feet…
Breaking confidentiality
This can be as simple as a facial expression. Someone asks: “How’s Tina doing with her training?” and the response is simply a raising of the eyebrows. Immediately, confidentiality is gone – and, potentially, along with it, Tina’s reputation.
This is both immoral and unprofessional (not to mention any potential legal ramifications). Does the person need to know how Tina is doing? Why? Do they have the right to know? Will it harm or benefit Tina? Of course, it also happens when people talk inappropriately.
Ice breakers
Please, no – ditch them! Because most people detest them. Just introduce people.
Triangulation
This happens all the time, personally and professionally, and it’s incredibly destructive. It’s unnecessarily involving a third party (a colleague or a manager, a relative or a friend) in a problem. And it invariably inflames an issue. It’s like throwing a hand grenade into the conflict.
Once it’s happened, negating it can be very difficult, if not impossible. Often the third party holds their own biases or agendas. It inevitably leads to a worsening of the situation.
Groupthink
As the name implies, this is about broadly held views, often stereotypical. Think: “Managers of this company are all the same. They have no idea what’s going on. They couldn’t care less.”
These views though, are often irrational and sometimes destructive. People can hold them due to a desire for acceptance or to conform. And there’s often an intolerance of those who don’t conform to the consensus view – at times, the response to those people can be quite aggressive.
This happens often in significant industrial disputes. We will commonly find people appointing themselves to address others who don’t conform – to pull them back into the pack. At the extreme, groups lose perspective and hold an unquestioned belief that they are morally right, along with developing a sense of invulnerability – strength in belonging to the group. They have just entered the danger zone. Individuals lose control, and lives can start to fall apart right then and there. How, then, do we combat groupthink?
Let me preface this by saying that things may not change initially if it’s entrenched and if cynicism is rife. Keep going. Don’t stop. It can change.
Success can also depend on individuals. Are they strong enough to go against the crowd? Are there enough of them? Support them. It is vitally important, nevertheless, to confront groupthink overtly, consistently and constantly. It can take time.
Remember these important points:
- Confront issues openly. Don’t shy away.
- Provide the facts (but this doesn’t guarantee change – people still find it difficult to stand out of the crowd).
- Encourage open dialogue and expression of opinion.
- Be there and available for anyone to speak to.
- Respect will empower a dissenter to disagree with the masses. Do you have respect?
I admire the way many Japanese companies conduct their meetings. They allow the most junior to speak and provide their views first. Then, they work upwards in seniority or status. This way, staff members aren’t afraid to differ with a view expressed by a more senior person.
Also read Seven culture killers – and how to stop them (part one) | Executive PA Media