Do you ever feel like you are playing whack-a-mole at work? You know what I mean. You handle one problem and before you can relax, something else pops up.
Many of the managers and business owners we work with come to us for exactly that reason.
Every business can experience short periods of this kind of chaos, mostly when a big transition is in the works. In these circumstances, things eventually settle down and problem pop-ups become less frequent.
If whack-a-mole becomes the constant state of your business or your team, it’s time to look beneath the surface to see if all the problems that are cropping up have something in common.
Often that common thread can be that your workplace culture is toxic. If that’s true, problems will keep erupting until you fix the culture and bring it back to health.
If you see these behaviors in several employees or over a period of time, it may be a sign that your company’s culture is toxic and in need of healing:
- Constant Gossip – When there are lots of side conversations or rampant rumors, it’s a sign that people are uncertain or unhappy. This may be due to lack of communication or to a feeling of not being valued within the organization.
- High employee turnover – If you’re having a hard time keeping good employees or struggle to find candidates to fill vacancies, it can be a sign that your culture is less than healthy.
- Role confusion – Clear roles and responsibilities are signs of a healthy organization. In toxic organizations, people may be unclear on their roles, fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or refuse to “stay in their lane.” Things may fall through the cracks because no one takes responsibility for them.
- Repeated boundary violations – Excessive tardiness, abusing leave time, failing to seek supervisor permission as required or engaging in unauthorized activities can be signs that your company is unhealthy.
- Disengagement or “quiet quitting” – When team members seem unenthusiastic or are not invested in achieving goals, but are not talking about problems or seeking solutions, it’s time to look at what might be lurking under the surface that gets in the way of your company being healthy and successful.
As the manager or business owner you can’t create your corporate culture by yourself and expect everyone to abide by it. Culture is a group project. But as the leader, you are responsible for setting the tone to create a healthy and vibrant culture and monitoring the climate so that the culture stays healthy.
A vibrant and positive culture is essential to the success of your business. Watch for the signs that warn that your culture is becoming unhealthy and make the changes that are necessary to prevent the atmosphere from becoming toxic.
When you keep your eye on your company culture, you can avoid playing whack-a-mole. Whew! Doesn’t that feel better?
Blessings,
Chris Ann Williams, CEO