Unfortunately, the problem has usually taken root by the time it hurts enough. It’s harder to fix. Outside of the complexity of team dynamics driven by the chemistry of personality and emotional wellness, the value of early detection is obvious. Yet when you enter the momentum of a workplace culture, all sorts of dysfunctional behaviors become tolerated and sanctioned. Teammates are willing to put up with things they wouldn’t wish upon their best friends.
Consider the trade-off. Would you exchange a life sentence of disheartening workplace politics for six months of cumbersome change-management facilitation? How about an eternity of dreading toxic team interaction for six months of uncomfortable conflict-management training? That’s about how long it takes to correct course when an organization’s culture has veered in an unhealthy direction.
Here’s the six-month challenge:
- Acknowledge the presence and impact of normalized dysfunction (the hardest step).
- Engage in a validated assessment of the location of the pain points so you know where to prioritize your limited resources (triage).
- Communicate your plan to pursue better wellness transparently (accountability).
- Build an action plan that starts with an overarching goal and includes specific strategies, tactics, and timelines to accomplish the desired change (temporary pain trade-off).
- Coach and track progress (evidence of having made a good decision).
You don’t need overnight success. As long as employees see things moving in the right direction, engagement increases. And then, a funny thing happens. Whoever might have been previously contributing to unhealthy politics is forced to make a choice. They can either buy in to the healthier vibe or they can seek a new environment where hurting others is still tolerated. The ecosystem fixes itself once you’ve empowered its healing.
