We Talk About Engagement. We Talk About Turnover. Why Can’t We Talk About This?

Please note: This post first appeared at Linkedin

In this ever-changing world of work & organizations — I’m going to go out on a proverbial limb and vote for stability.

Not the type of stability that shoots you in the foot and has the potential to signal an organizational downfall (resting on laurels, complacency, lack of customer connection). I’m speaking of the kind of internal stability that allows your organization’s engines to really rev and take flight. The kind of security borne of trust and understanding.

It lives within the organization’s cultural core.

The idea may sound a bit esoteric and difficult to grasp. Never the less, discussing its presence is vital. It is essential because great employees do not simply leave bad bosses — they run, when possible, from an unhealthy culture. We have wrung our hands over various constructs that swirl around that core; engagement; turnover; commitment; loyalty. However, if we do not first take aim to affect our cultural core, forward progress is stymied.

There is a level of stability necessary for organizations — and the people within them — to thrive. We must address this.

Communication = Energy

One thing remains salient (at least from my perspective). You can’t positively affect your organization’s cultural core without bringing your team along. There has to be trust. There must be communication. There has to be the recognition that your people are your organization.

How your traditions, mores and accepted processes affect them is critical. These collectively form your culture.

People provide the energy to start the organizational engines. If the mission of your organization is misunderstood or mistranslated, your cultural core — so to speak — is weakened. Sometimes we simply forget people and we run ahead without them. We forget to ask if they are still “with us”. Or they were never on board to begin with. Same difference. We all lose.

We didn’t even bother to ask. Shame on us. We then must circle back with great haste.

Creating Safety

This kind of stability demands open conversations about how the work is done, the goals and the direction we are traveling. It requires a conversation about growth and career. It also requires planning for the future (competency-wise) — even if that future is a tad fuzzy.

I would hypothesize that for the period time before great success or innovation, the organization was likely stable in some sense at the core — and this provides a sense of safety (ethical leadership, strong teams, adequate resources, etc.) It may seem that successes are borne from one Eureka moment — but there was likely a safe core there. People fully understood they were “culturally” safe and they were free to seek excellence. Even with the whirlwind of activity around them in the external environment, that built stability was present.

Here are 6 elements to keep in mind when building out the core of your team or organization:

• Examine competencies. It’s really nonsense that the notion of competencies is dead for organizations. What’s dead is the idea that these areas of focus remain stagnant. What’s also dead it that we should use these as “hammers” to drive performance. Instead they should reflect the strategy of an organization and translate into meaningful behaviors.
• Build trust. Trust comes in many varieties and it needs to be attended to. Trust in leadership, communication and the potential to succeed — should be considered.
• Temper key risks. How your employees view and process risk is an interesting cultural litmus test. When thinking of doing something remarkable or different, what goes through their minds? Excitement? Fear? Obstacles? This dynamic can limit an organizations ability to remain innovative.
• Examine growth. Does your culture allow your employees to grow and reach across functional lines — or does it force contributors to protect their turf? Does your culture reward team players who help others thrive? Moreover, are ideas protected?
• Conversations are king. You cannot align your team without exploring how they feel about their own aspirations and the environment in which they work. This starts with your core team and cascades throughout the organization.
• Metrics. Strengthening your core requires an organization to include a robust set of metrics. Many will be new markers of success. (Remember Marshall Goldsmith’s quote: “What got who here, won’t get you there”.) This also requires you to examine the drivers of those measures honestly.

From your perspective, how does an organization’s core affect work life? Share that below.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. She is a charter member of the LinkedIn Influencer Program. Her thoughts on work life have appeared in various outlets including Talent Zoo, Forbes, Quartz and The Huffington Post.