“Sensitivity to others is no trivial skill; rather, it is a truly precious human ability. But it isn’t complex: it requires receptiveness to other people and a willingness to listen.” (James Kouzes and Barry Posner)
(This blog is an excerpt from “The People Investment”, by Michalle Faulkner)
In any business, when we are talking about interpersonal relationships, it would be incredibly rare for any workplace to be without its challenges. So what are the key turn offs within workplace relationships that affect team culture and cause leaders to uninspire as much as they inspire?
Being an HR practitioner and working directly with teams in clients’ businesses, I’m privileged to be invited deep into the inner sanctum and get to work directly with the cogs of their businesses – the people. This is unique and I never take this for granted. It gives me a third party view of everything that is happening in the workplace and allows me to identify ways in which we can enhance team culture and relationships.
Observing and learning from the team members always gives me an amazing insight into the specific challenges within the work environment faced by individual members. If I had a dollar for every time a client told me that there were no problems within their team, that everyone was happy, liked working there and they all got on well, I’d be rich today.
That doesn’t mean that there aren’t workplaces around that can claim this and genuinely mean it, but in most instances, there are things within the work environment that given the opportunity to provide honest feedback, team members would most probably change.
In having honest conversations with teams, the feedback I get sometimes is that they don’t speak out about changes they would like to make, as they don’t want to create workplace conflict. It’s not that they are being deliberately obtuse, it’s just that it’s too challenging.
They don’t share the real challenges or issues when they arise because they are met with either confrontation or a reactive boss who completely blows the situation out of proportion and it becomes a major conflict.
Another regular challenge when keeping the internal relationships strong is the fallacy of an ‘open door policy’. Let’s be really honest and authentic here – it is not an open door policy if you are always too busy to speak to the team member that comes to your door – even if it’s open!
It’s also not an open door policy when you are not readily available to help resolve issues as they happen, are not prepared to make tough decisions and stand by them and do not respond when team members bring things to your attention.
Actions speak louder than words. I’m not saying don’t have an open door policy – it’s important that you are readily available to your team – but consider how open your door really is.
If you can’t make yourself available all the time, then take the honest road and state clearly that you do want to know and will always respond, but you may not be readily available and visible. A team will certainly appreciate knowing the true picture.
As a leader, try to be less reactive and more appreciative when feedback is given freely by your team members.
Team members have to buy into their leader or manager (the people aspect) before they align with a business’ vision, mission or values. So this is really important because you can have the best mission statement and a new team culture, but if you are not a leader who the team can come to, it is all in vain.
We want a certain level of performance and buy-in from our team but we can often be unwilling to hold ourselves accountable or be open and up front when they offer us some constructive feedback.
Being authentic and open enough to allow your team to provide you with feedback on occasion instead of you always providing it to them, can be an eye opening experience as you will receive honest opinions and feedback on your leadership style and participation, or lack of, in the workplace culture.
You can’t expect high standards from your team if you don’t embody them. Your team are always observing you. They watch your body language when they walk up to that ‘open office door’. They care more about what you do and how you react to situations, than what you say in most cases.
Most challenging to witness is the fallout for the managers and leaders who either knowingly or unknowingly quash the spirit of the team simply by their behaviours and poor management of general everyday situations.
For many businesses, without the people, you would cease to exist. They fuel your success. Treat your team members like you would treat your best clients. You need to be sincere and consistent and above all, don’t fake interest, it will never wash, they are way too intuitive for that.
I never take for granted the trust that is shown to me by the members of each and every team that I work with. Building trust and loyalty is a never-ending quest and it’s incredibly humbling when I build rapport to such a level that those relationships continue on years down the track, even when I am no longer working with that client.
