It happens to all organizations – big and small. They see their bottom lines starting to shrink, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, bickering and rumor mongering is running amuck. The corporate culture is becoming hostile with legal implications and team cohesion is almost nonexistent.
As businesses emerge from one of the lengthiest recessions on record and struggle to proceed in the “new” economy, these negative traits could become even more apparent. Harvard Business Review Studies show the impact on companies as their leaders attempt to guide them out of recessions.
Leaders seemed to have lost their way when the recession forced change upon them. They had to downsize, make budget cuts, initiate payroll and hiring freezes, reduce investments in capital expenditures…you name it. For companies emerging from the recession, they are entering tumultuous times and the mindset, “business as usual”, is problematic.
Let’s take a look at the warning signs of a company in distress and in need of an outside consultant or business coach.
- Communication is disintegrating quickly between management, team leaders, and employees. Employees are uninformed and make incorrect assumptions on projects, company viability, and company vision. Rumors and assumptions prevail.
- Incivility in the workplace has reached levels where employees and leaders are abrasive and downright hostile with each other. Employees vilify one another. Departments are at odds with other departmental successes by withholding resources or information. Team cohesion and collaboration between leaders and departments occurs less frequently.
- Stellar performing employees are seeking work elsewhere. The economy is slowly on the uptick and these employees have been waiting for their opportunity to leave a company culture that is wrought with chaos, poor morale, poor leadership, and stagnant professional growth. Organizations are losing billions of dollars a year in lost productivity while adding new hire training costs.
- Newly forming teams are stuck at the storming stage which is plagued by confusion, misunderstandings, and conflict. As organizations “change” to adapt to the new economy, many employees are resisting the change effort. Conflict ensues and incivility steps in. Companies experiencing high incivility also see an increase in employee absenteeism leading to lost productivity and profits.
- The organization has plenty of managers, but no real visionary leaders to champion change initiatives and move the company forward. The right leaders were not placed at the helm during the recessionary downturn. Managers recruited to run systems often are very good at managing and monitoring systems, but do not inspire empowerment and vision in others. Because of this, there is a struggle for power and subsequent resistance that makes it impossible for “leader take-the-point” project management.
When organizations experience the above symptoms, frequently a fresh outside perspective is required with leadership championship beginning at the top from either the Board of Directors or C-suite. Consultants armed with reliable resources can work with employees to quickly change the dynamics of the organization’s culture. They are an objective outside source that can facilitate Action Planning and change efforts.
Next week, I’ll talk about what to look for in an outside consultant and the capabilities needed to facilitate change and strategically improve culture, re-engage disengaged employees, streamline processes, and develop collaboration between C-suite executives, managers, and front line employees.
Join Me for an Insightful Teleseminar Series on Post Recession Recovery. In today’s fast-moving business world, every executive team needs solutions for strong post recession recovery and success. Technology changes come at lightning speed. New ideas and innovations emerge in the blink of an eye. Companies must be prepared for post recovery engagement, retention and growth. Beginning December 3, ten experts will present 10 viable solutions from diverse perspectives such as change management, marketing, training, team development, executive recruitment, employee retention and sales. Join me and other like-minded professionals for this insightful series on emerging triumphant from the current recession with resources to share with all your employees..
Copyright TIGERS Success Series by Dianne Crampton
About Dianne:
Dianne Crampton is the Founder of TIGERS Success Series. She is the leader in building successful quality-focused and cooperative team culture communities. As a thought leader in the team culture movement, she has been published by Barrett Koehler, Pfeiffer (an in print of John Wiley & Sons) and Three Creeks. Her latest work, TIGERS Among Us: Winning Business Team Cultures and Why They Thrive has received international acclaim. Nominated by Merrill Lynch for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for a team culture change system that helps leaders bring about desired team culture change remarkably fast, she certifies and licenses consultants, facilitators, and HR leader to use the proven TIGERS team culture system within their organization with measurable success. TIGERS helps leaders build and improve trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk, and success in teams which results in a dynamic work environment that attracts and retains very talented, quality-focused people. Subscribe today to receive instant access to Dianne’s general membership where like-minded professionals discover valuable resources for team,
