What is the culture of your workplace? Individuals who are in pain often reveal to me, the outside consultant, what they will not share with the leadership in the organization, even through anonymous surveys and exit interviews, for fear of reprisal. Repeatedly, I have heard men and women, managers and staff, individually describe to me the stress and suffering of working in their current environment.
It is not the job or work they dislike. In fact, most people enjoy work itself, and people inherently do want to do a good job. The problems are the politics, undercurrents of biases and power struggles, fear, insecurity, internal competition, and lack of trust in the environment. These are the symptoms and emotions of an unhealthy organization. Even if there are periods of calm, the emotions and reactions seem can arise and feed on each other at various times; leading to a general sense of unpredictability.
- Fear
- Blame
- One-upsmanship
- Lack of trus
- Cliques and power structures
- Turf protection
- Gossip
- Insecurity
- Lack of appreciation
- Power struggles
- Secretiveness
- Sabotaging
- Withholding information
- Hidden and personal agendas
- Intimidation
- Sucking up
- Unpredictablity
- Workaholism
- Lack of open communication
- All kinds of discrimination (sexual preference, gender, race, religion, etc. economic,)
A revolutionary new model of honor, respect, and unity—a replacement for the current internal competition—is the enlightened answer for the future growth of companies. Without a change in the strict structure that dominates most businesses, employees will not feel dedication, inspiration, or commitment, and the level of work will be mediocre.
It is a time for enlightnened leadership in which we replace fear with trust and compassion. Businesses will prosper and people everywhere will be happier. Leaders who can be courageous enough to look at their own fears and weaknesses and become authentic will create environments of inspiration and cooperation which empowers those they lead.
