Unveiling the Workplace Culture Challenge: Is Your Team Thriving or Struggling?
By Gretchen Fox Palmer, CEO of MTO Agency and Founder of the Conscious Leadership Collective
Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce 2023 report shined a light on this crisis for organizations everywhere.
If you’re thinking, “not my company” or “not my team,” pause for a moment. Despite your best efforts, your team might be struggling. I’ve been there too, and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad manager or have a toxic culture.
What it does mean is that you most likely have poor internal communication, broken trust between leadership and staff and between different internal teams, and that you have low employee engagement.
Step back from your company lens and consider this: Outside of work, the world is more stressful than ever. People lack emotional regulation skills, and companies often lack the right support. Before the pandemic, people could separate personal stress from work, but those lines have blurred.
Ever wonder if your team faces a culture problem? Check for these common challenging workplace behaviors:
- Stress Carrying Negativity: People exhibiting this behavior attract stress like a magnet, amplify negativity, perceive challenges as catastrophes, and ultimately spread unease throughout the workplace.
- Conflict Dodging and Avoidance: Individuals demonstrating this behavior skillfully evade confronting challenging conversations and unresolved issues, prolonging their existence until they reach critical levels, causing disruption and potential breakdowns within team dynamics.
- Volatile Explosive Outbursts: Those with this behavior radiate explosive energy, prone to sudden outbursts of anger and aggression, creating palpable tension and unease, destabilizing team dynamics and undermining collaboration efforts.
- Blame Gaming and Deflection: Individuals exhibiting this behavior deflect responsibility by pointing fingers and weaving elaborate excuses, undermining trust and fostering resentment among colleagues, ultimately hindering team cohesion and progress.
- Silent Suffering: People who engage in this behavior conceal struggles behind a facade of composure, quietly bearing the weight of emotions, risking burnout and personal distress, ultimately impacting team morale and effectiveness.
- Rumor Mongering: Those who engage in this behavior waste no time in spreading rumors and negativity, creating an atmosphere of distrust and distraction, undermining productivity and cultivating a toxic environment within the workplace.
- Detached Leadership: Individuals who demonstrate this behavior show a lack of engagement with the day-to-day workings of the team, failing to grasp true sentiments and challenges faced by employees, leading to a disconnect between leadership and staff, hindering morale and stifling productivity.
- Disengaged Droning: People who exhibit this behavior go through the motions with little interest in work or colleagues, negatively impacting team dynamics and morale, often appearing to be “phoning it in” or simply “watching the clock.”
Recognize these in your team? If so, it might indicate a culture problem. Your company culture is like an organism, where all parts come together to form a single operating entity.
Are all parts of your organism thriving?
If not, don’t worry. Drawing from my experience as a Fortune 500 executive and agency CEO, I’ve developed the EQ @Work program. Our curriculum, format, and tools are designed to empower peak performance.
This isn’t just about solving a culture crisis; it’s about nurturing a thriving organism.
To assess your work culture, request access to our complimentary survey and share it with your employees to see how your company is doing.
Let’s create a culture of thriving!
