Is Your Culture Open or Closed
A sales professional was telling me recently about her work environment which was fast becoming negative because of restructuring due to the economy. Searching for ways to explain what happened she said, “Before we were open – sharing, conversing, bouncing ideas off each other. And then things changed. It’s like we shut down. The new arrivals were not open to ideas nor did they want to share their successes or challenges.”
A desire to improve was replaced with a willingness to settle.
A belief that people could transform was replaced with the status quo.
A desire for engagement and feedback was replaced with independence and exclusiveness.
A sense of enjoyment was replaced with drudgery.
And, confidence was replaced with defensiveness.
John Johnson, Ph.D. refers to this as an OPEN and CLOSED environment or system. Just as our bodies reveal signs of being closed – crossing of the arms or avoiding eye-contact – so cultures have distinguishing signs.
At the outset we need to remember that closed cultures are fearful cultures. While it may seem initially open, this type of system fosters a suspicion of new people and new ideas to the point of intentionally limiting the discussion of new approaches and casting a pale of doubt when a new person joins the team. Depending on the make-up of the team members the “keepers of the closed culture” manage (control) it with passive-aggressive behavior. If that manipulation doesn’t work it moves to more aggressive actions.
Being part of this closed culture may feel a bit “cultish.” Actually, it feels that way because a closed culture has many of the characteristics of a cult.
- People are stifled; input and feedback is squelched.
- Possibilities are suffocated; there is a belief that there is no better way.
- Change is not tolerated; transformation is not welcomed.
An open system is quite the opposite. This culture is alive and transformational:
There is a belief that individuals can improve; transformation is embraced and encouraged.
Not only are new ideas welcomed but new people are welcomed; bringing with them a new perspective and therefore, opening up new possibilities.
Discussions are lively; when everyone contributes it cultivates interdependence.
Because people are inspired to develop their potential the team flourishes and the organization prospers.
Sure, an open culture requires boundaries. Rather than “rule-keepers” enforcing a set of legal restrictions, people are guided by boundaries which value human beings, respect the process, and foster a productive community.
It’s often fluid and a bit messy. It requires leaders who will step into their role of shaping the environment by speaking the kind truth and serving the team. Dr. Johnson emphasizes, “This type of leader will learn the difference between an open and a closed culture and seek to foster the healthiest of environments.”
On the continuum of OPEN or CLOSED – how would you rate the different cultures of which you are a part?
[Systems to consider: family, work group, team, religious gatherings (local church, small group, denomination), volunteer organizations, et cetera]
Organizations Are Much Like Families
I’ve reconnected with a good friend of mine and not only have I appreciated the depth of our relationship I’ve also enjoyed seeing how our learning as been an “iron sharpening iron” experience. After spending years connecting with sporadic phone calls our conversations now are regular and rich at so many levels.
One issue over which John (John C. Johnson, Ph.D.) and I share great synergy is in the area of developing a healthy culture in organizations. As I lean on his experience from decades of counseling and interactions with individuals and organizations around the world we find ourselves chatting about how to help build and maintain organizational health. Add to that, both of us have gleaned a wealth information form Peter Senge about systems and Patrick Lencioni about healthy organizations.
Here’s a highlight from our latest interchange and the notes about organizational health:
What does it mean that an organization is healthy?
Organizations are much like family systems. Some are healthy and functional while others are very unhealthy and dysfunctional.
Why don’t leaders make decisions to build organizational health?
Often time leaders within an organization know that something is wrong but because they are part of the system, they can’t see system problems.
Why is it so difficult to build organizational health?
Often times, certain individuals within the system, become the identified problem and they are lost to the organization. However, this leaves the organization in no better shape than before.
What needs to happen?
The system needs to be addressed in order to build a healthy organization and facilitate transformation. An objective third-party who is willing to speak the truth is a foundational step in this process.
My take-away – which I shared in my weekly coaching session with a group of managers – is a key ingredient in a healthy organization is not the lack of relational challenges or conflict. What makes an organizational healthy is the willingness to actually face the challenges and conflict and deal with it openly and honestly. Dysfunctional organizations ignore conflict, threaten individuals, or intentionally avoid speaking the truth.
How would you describe the organizations for which you’ve worked – functional or dysfunctional?
Your Focus Needs More Focus
In an instant culture used to quick fixes, the long and vigilant process of transformation is not an appealing option. At least, not initially! Maybe we would rather avoid the hard work. Maybe the end goal seems too distant. Whatever the reason, like the toddler, we respond, “I want it now!” We need to change our focus.
I was working with a team of managers who was making good strides in the area of personal development, one of the values of the organization. The members reflected on the challenges of personal transformation with these honest statements:
- It takes vigilance.
- I have a life-time of habits to break.
- I’m training.
- I’m realizing my resistance to change.
This type of self-reflection is an essential part of the process of personal development and certainly, a good beginning. But there is more.
This reminds me of The Karate Kid (2010) which debuts this weekend in theaters. I know I’m a sucker for transformational stories, even if they’re sappy.
12-year-old Dre Parker gets bullied and with no one to support him turns to the maintenance man, Mr. Han, a Kung Fu master. What is the kid’s first comment as the training begins? “You gotta teach me how to control people!” Sound familiar? Give me an instant fix and if it’s about controlling others, all the better. The student has so much to learn. “There is only one person you must learn to control,” Han continues knowing that Kung Fu is about personal maturity and calm.
Ouch! That means the focus has to change. Rather than give our attention to the attitudes and behavior of others the focus needs first to be inner-directed. Robert Quinn writes, “When people alter their interior world, they also alter their exterior world.” Building the Bridge as You Walk on It
Real transformation does not occur when the other person sees the light, changes their attitude, or comes around to our way of seeing the world. That’s the wrong focus. Personal development is about our perceptions, our attitudes, and the way we see the world. And that takes intentional effort which is best accompanied by someone who cares about us enough to speak the kind truth.
At one point in the movie the young student abruptly tells Mr. Han that he has great focus. Funny, how our self-perceptions can be a bit clouded. Displaying the calmness and maturity of a Kung Fu Master, Mr. Han hangs the young Dre inches from the water and wryly responds, “Your focus needs more focus.” Oh to have people in our lives who care about us enough to tell us the kind truth. It may not be easy to hear. It may even sting for a while. But since the end goal is our personal development, it is worth it.
Does your focus need more focus?
Southwest Airlines…Organizational Health Matters
I missed the live Webinar entitled “Organizational Health – A Powerful Advantage” presented by The Table Group. So I spent yesterday afternoon catching up at Uptown Coffeehouse in my hometown of Howell.
Some people consider the health of an organization a nuance and others would rather just focus on success (profitability, growth, etc.). But here’s what I know about me; I am passionate about organizational health. I could study it for hours and converse about it even longer. Yes…probably boring many/most to tears.
Why the passion? Maybe it’s because I have been a part of so many dysfunctional organizations that I’ve watched them tank, stay average, or even fail because they choose to ignore the healthy side of the equation. They would rather embrace higher levels of politics and confusion and are satisfied with lower morale, high turnover and low productivity. Yes, those are the issues healthy organizations choose to address.
The Webinar featured a Case Study of Southwest Airlines featuring Jeff Lamb (SVP Administration & Chief People Officer). Southwest has been the only airline to be profitable (37 years in a row) and if you travel, they provide levels of customer service that no other provider can match. Mr. Lamb said that the three core values permeate every level of the company:
- A fun-loving attitude
- Servant heart
- Warrior spirit (hard work and perseverance)
Here are some more Not-So-Uselss-Facts from the Case Study:
- The Southwest commercials always feature real employees of Southwest. The philosophy is that an actor could not act out the fun-loving attitude of an employee.
- When they interview pilots, who are typically serious people and often come from military background, they have the pilots don Bermuda shorts in the middle of the interview. Picture: wing tip shoes, long socks, shirt and tie AND Bermuda shorts. They find that it weeds out those who say they are fun-loving but in actuality are not.
- Southwest has not laid off an employee in 39 years.
- They hire 90% of their employees from within the company.
- Southwest believes that you hire for attitude and train for skill.
- He believes that most companies do not commit to or maintain a healthy culture because they do not embrace conflict and/or handle it by not speaking the kind truth.
- When interviewees fly on an “interview pass” to corporate headquarters and a flight attendant or desk employee notices a poor attitude, they can immediately contact corporate and the person will not be hired.
Maybe, just maybe, organizational health matters!
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mark@whatifenterprises.com
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