Audience: Leaders
Overview: The first of a four-part series on the four factors that can devastate a culture when left unaddressed
By: Cynthia Kyriazis, Chief Experience Officer, The Culture Think Tank
Maybe you’ve read one of the many studies or analyses out there over the past few years on what it takes to develop and maintain a healthy workplace culture.
Lots of information is available, yet I haven’t run across too many that dive into specifics of exactly how a culture is negatively impacted when these factors aren’t realized or addressed.
I thought it might be time to share some specific information and I’m doing so over a four-part series.
I’ll cover four factors to look for and measure when wanting to identify the success…or struggles…of an organization’s culture.
I’ll cover the first factor today, which is on the topic of anxiety and what happens when it’s not recognized or worse yet not acknowledged or addressed.
Anxiety is as big an issue for organizations as it is for individuals. Causes vary and can be far-reaching. Sometimes it’s caused by things such as impending mergers, acquisitions or budget concerns.
Sometimes it’s just because someone said something to someone and that statement spreads throughout the organization. And sometimes it’s just a feeling someone has, based only on their own individual concerns and experiences.
In the book Anxiety at Work by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, they tell us the common denominator for causing this is uncertainty.
Many coaches and consultants I’ve worked with understand this from their own client engagements, but sometimes leaders I work with aren’t sure how to determine or uncover if anxiety is running throughout their organization or fail to see it at all.
Although identification is the first step, the question frequently not answered is: In what specific ways does it negatively impact the culture?
Using our Organization Behavioral Intelligence™, we can speak to these specifics to begin to help connect the dots.
Failure to Accurately Diagnose
Anxiety is toxic. If not recognized it continues to fester, spreading a wide net, and infecting all parts of the organization. And it happens very quickly.
Individual productivity declines through a loss of focus, resulting in lost time, money, and energy.
But how do you know it exists in your organization?
How long has it been weaving its way throughout?
You may begin to hear rumors, innuendo or just sense a sense that things aren’t right. How do you know how deep it goes? In other words, how bad is it?
Unless you have a diagnostic based on employee input, you won’t know. But employees tend to not want to share their concerns unless they can do so anonymously. You have options.
An anonymous one-time survey or poll will provide you with general information. You may learn the percentage of people reporting, but not the level or intensity of their anxiety because intensity levels are identified through algorithms which are not used in straight survey or poll scenarios.
The percentage of employees reporting anxiety together with the level of intensity provide a much fuller picture for moving forward. If leadership has this information but doesn’t take time to develop next steps, what happens?
Failure to Take Early Action
As individuals, we know that to live our lives to the best of our abilities, we need to feel strong and healthy, but of course, there are multiple things that can interfere with this ideal. It’s inevitable. Organizations experience similar roadblocks.
It really boils down to how soon the anxiety is dealt with to prevent unhealthy outcomes.
Let me illustrate what I’m talking about by using a camping trip analogy.
You’ve set up camp and begin your morning by enjoying breakfast and coffee. As you get ready to begin your hike, you notice a few embers still in the campfire and decide they’ll die out soon on their own. Nothing to worry about and you go about your hike.
You return to the campground later and see that those embers have turned into a raging fire. It’s spreading rapidly and the fumes are toxic.
The fire won’t stop or die out by itself. It will require help (firemen) and resources (money and time) to contain it…if it can be contained at all. And if it is, you could be left with only ashes. You will need to rebuild your campground again, from the beginning, once everything has calmed down.
Sound dramatic?
I’ve seen the equivalent happen in a business scenario within our own client base. The organization wasn’t left in ashes, but the rebuilding was timely and costly. And in some cases, painful. The amount of time and energy diverted was significant with less focus on priority issues.
When anxiety is recognized and measured, next steps should be taken as soon as possible. But there’s a secondary factor I rarely see addressed. The well-being of the individual employee.
Failure to Recognize Individual Well-Being
The measurement of anxiety has provided information on the organization or team’s level of anxiety. What about the level of well-being of individual employees?
We define well-being as how confident and secure an individual feels in their role at the organization. If anxiety and intensity levels are high, well-being is compromised because doubt and concern creep into the equation. Result? A marked increase in employee mental health issues.
The bottom line? High anxiety is the leading indicator that directly negatively impacts the health and strength of the organization as well as the levels of individual well-being.
It continues to attack these areas until it’s identified, acknowledged and dealt with.
If not, the organization will continue to experience lower performance and productivity and that will ultimately lead to a culture that struggles with retaining loyal, committed employees and recruiting talented new ones.
What steps can you take to try and avoid a wildfire in your organization or team?
Seek data, not opinions. As they say, we have the technology. It’s critical to measure not only the number of employees reporting anxiety, but also the concentration or intensity of that anxiety. The sooner you see this data, the faster you move into learning the cause and can begin to implement a plan for moving forward.
Prevent wildfires. Seek regular, recurring data. Measure and watch for any slow upward climb in data to help you recognize and address the situation sooner rather than later.
Move quickly. Once you have accurate information, acknowledge the anxiety and then move forward to address the concerns of the group or team. Take equal time to check in with individuals who may be struggling and whose well-being and mental health may be affected.
Any organization seeking accurate, measured information on anxiety levels is ultimately more agile because information is not based on guesses, but metrics and data culled from employees themselves. As a result, actions can be taken in a timely manner, saving time and money.
Demonstrating care towards individuals as well as groups ultimately begins to create a culture of trust. Without all the wildfires.
Join me for part two of my series where I’ll talk about the next factor which is employee connectedness.
Four Factors That Impact Company Culture: Factor 2 – Lack of Staff ConnectednessFour Factors That Impact Company Culture: Factor 3 – Failure to Ask & Accept Staff Requested NeedsFour Factors that Impact Company Culture: Factor 4 – Failure to Ask & Accept Staff Requested Needs
Cynthia Kyriazis is the Chief Experience Officer of The Culture Think Tank. Her experience includes executive coaching, consulting and training.