How Does Anything Get Done Around Here?

Have you ever found yourself wondering, "How does anything get done around here?". Imagine your workplace is like a city. It has individual hierarchies, cultural norms, and departments as distinct districts. Within your city, you have some suburbs thinking they are of the highest value; at worst these suburbs morph into rival regions which become internalized into their micro world, better known as "Silos." 

 Organizations are designed so that their "city" is working towards a common goal; this is not always true — the smallest disruption, whether team dysfunction or internal uncooperativeness, can hinder the organization's growth. Individuals in a position of power often attribute this standstill to a "problematic workgroup" or "problematic employees." In Deirdre's experience, the problem often lies in the leadership method in which the employee is managed and the culture that is groomed. 

 Many organizations band-aid the issue or improve their processes without taking into account the impact of human behavior. This approach segregates and micromanages each employee from a performance perspective, and the critical cultural problem is lost in the midst. The focus on trying to performance manage "process steps" is a real issue for individual motivation and team dynamics. Micromanagement leaves employees feeling discouraged and undervalued; at this time, you will begin to hear terms such as change fatigue and toxic work environment. When workgroups begin to bond in negativity performance suffers and the larger strategic and collaborative aspects are significantly dimmed. 

 When micromanaged performance indicators and efficiency objectives are unrealized, leaders rarely wonder, "How is the environmental wellness and culture impacting our team?" That is however where the solutions are often found. The answer may or may not question process and practices as much as shine light on unclear expectations, ongoing frustrations with other teams or being to light recent cynical public or political influences. Therefore answering this question should be a priority to understand and accept the critical value of a healthy workplace. 

We challenge you to get a jump start and analyze whether your team’s environment is suffering. To get started with your analysis we recommend a S.W.O.T (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunity, and Threat) Analysis along with a P.E.S.T.E.L (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) Analysis. In the coming weeks, our blog series will help you learn more about how you can address the challenges that come from these exercises. 

 For more information, you can refer to Mistakenly Underappreciated: Re-engaging the Disengaged (available on Amazon). 

​Written and Published by Atosa Asadi