Leaders set the tone

Gene Mage

Much has been written about corporate culture, but I fear that many leaders dismiss those discussions as “soft” stuff. Let us clear the air. By “culture”, I mean “expectations about how we work together.” Those expectations may be stated or unspoken, consciously learned or passively absorbed in the course of daily life. But regardless of the nature of those expectations, they powerfully shape how our organizations behave, and, consequently, the results our organizations achieve.

As leaders who want to make a meaningful difference in the communities we serve, we are challenged to face up to the organizational cultures we create, tolerate, or perpetuate. We set the cultural tone, beginning with how we behave as a leadership team.

Boards, executive councils, and management working groups are more than social clubs. The interactions among the top leaders in any organization cause ripples that reach every corner of the company, every supplier, and every customer. Factions, “behind the scenes” politics, personality conflicts, petty squabbles, and ego-driven agendas refuse to be confined to the hallowed halls of power; those pernicious behaviors overflow boardroom walls, replicating themselves like cancer cells throughout organizational life.

When senior leaders choose jungle warfare strategies to get things done, everybody knows about it within seconds. Word travels fast as executive assistants share the latest “buzz” about who is doing what to whom. Then, as a natural defense, others in the organization begin to consider how to deal with the potential fallout from executive warfare.

Resumes hit the copy machines. Recruiters get wind of the uncertain environment and begin to woo the very best people into greener pastures. Stress levels rise. Distractions displace focused effort. Conversations that were once filled with new products, customer needs, and manufacturing improvements digress into breathless gossip about the latest rumors. Deadlines begin to slip. Mistakes and errors start to pop up. Tardiness and absenteeism spike.

Then, as organizational performance inevitably suffers, we leaders look down upon the rabble with contempt, decrying the waste and inefficiency. But as the eastern proverb reminds us, “When the elephants stampede, the grass gets trampled.” Dear leader, if the organization you see before you falls short of your expectations, look in the mirror. Your organization is a living, breathing picture of yourself. You created this monster through your own behaviors, and the cultural tone you set at the top.

When the parents go to war, the kids go crazy. Dear leader, you modeled what you wanted to see. If you do not like the picture, model something different. If your board meetings and executive team planning sessions are filled with conflict and intrigue, please do not act all surprised and put out when you see negative attitudes, angry customers, and uncooperative employees all around you. They are only doing what seems to be associated with power in your company. The message you have sent is, “If you want to rise in this company, this is how you behave.” Accept responsibility for the choices you have made.

The good news? You can change the cultural tone any time you want if you master the dynamics at the leadership level. When board members and executive team leaders start sharing information, treating one another with respect, listening, persuading with facts and logic, winning commitment, dealing with conflict openly and constructively, placing the needs of the customer over personal agendas, and serving the organization rather than manipulating others to get their own way, then they can, rightly, expect the rest of the team to follow suit.

The bad news? Until you commit to personally living what you want to see, you will waste your own energy, and the efforts of everyone around you. Until you are willing to behave like an adult in your interactions with others, you will perpetuate a “schoolyard” mentality in your company. Until you are willing to face down the bullies, you will not see meaningful change in your organization.

For more ideas for creating a winning workplace from Leadership Development Author and Speaker Gene C. Mage, visit www.makingitwork.com.