Case Study Overview
Slowing Down Versus Going Fast to Improve Culture, Communication and Operational Efficiencies
Read Time: 3 minutes
Client: Civic Law Enforcement Agency
Product: Culture 5 - 4 Check-Ins, 5 Questions, 120 days
Anxiety Rating: Managed
Staff Connecting: 46% Connecting
Value to Leadership
Positive Environment: More dialogue and laughter in leadership meetings vs pre-culture work
People felt heard
Leaders & Managers appreciate the value of feedback and sharing information with all
The executive coach working with leadership continued to reiterate the benefits of:
Slowing down, pausing and stepping back to focus on operational efficiencies
Having hard conversations and addressing accountability
Giving leaders space to show up and celebrate positive behaviors and improvements
Leadership Profile
This is a small civic department that deals with ‘big city crime’ issues; the department is frequently short-staffed, not enough people share the workload
Civil law enforcement work is by nature transactional, which influences the organization’s culture; there is an emphasis on transactions versus behavioral change
Law enforcement culture tends to be very straightforward/ numerical; conducting nebulous culture work and addressing anxiety is ‘considered 'fluffy,' not perceived as a concrete, deliverable ROI metric
Leadership, managers and staff struggled to lean into difficult conversations to address the relational issues that contribute to anxiety, especially in group/ team settings
Outcomes
Participation declined over the 120 days period due to a lack of belief that the Check In was improving the department’s culture
Managers were consistently the least connected group across the organization (0-33%); they struggled to acknowledge their department results were “healthier” than perceived
The relationship between management and senior leaders was a consistent bottleneck to improving communication and connecting
Completing larger projects that required more across-department collaboration than the typical day-to-day work had a significantly positive impact on
culture scores
Requested Leadership Behaviors Expressed:
30 days: Help Balance the Load/ Avoid Burnout
60 days: Help Balance the Load/ Avoid Burnout
90 days: Improve Operations & Efficiency120 days: Break Down Silos/ Remove Red Tape
Metric Goal
Culture Score = Contributing/ PerformingWell Being Index = Stable/ EnergizedAnxiety Rating = Managed/ MinimalFeelings Index (Connecting) = Higher % the better
Milestones
Increasing Participation
In subsequent C5 Check Ins, leadership/ management increased the frequency of reminder emails and incorporated QR codes at strategic locations around the organization to encourage participation - increased to 82% participation.
Improving Communication
Coaching sessions delivered to Leadership / Managers on:
Practicing active listening in all settings
Asking open-ended questions
How to have tough conversations
Slowing down the pace of staff meetings to recognize where interactions and communication could improve in real time
Meeting Operational Challenges
Emphasized strengthening relationships and improving operational efficiencies
Bi-weekly leadership meetings provided a space for increased communication
Developed a formal agenda structure to facilitate communication/ problem-solving in leadership meetings
Enhanced focus on positive progress and celebrating wins
Identified assumptions and biases