By Lisa B. McNeill, PCC
Peter Drucker, sometimes called the Father of Modern Management, is attributed with the quote, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
I’ve been thinking about this quote lately as I work with some of my coaching clients. Leaders from CEOs to new managers have talked to me about employees who lack boundaries. And by that they mean, they do not self-regulate their emotions.
In the last week, I spoke with two leaders about subordinates who – as one CEO put it – “emotionally vomit” their complaints whenever they don’t like something. Both leaders talked about their employees failing to problem solve when they hit a challenge. The employees, they said, complain about everything that is wrong and throw everyone who has “done them wrong” under the proverbial bus.
It’s a pattern, they tell me. The employees don’t come up with solutions, but when one is offered, they complain. Worse, they go from supervisor to peers to HR to anyone else who will listen. They waste valuable time not only not problem-solving but in resisting the help that is offered. And they waste the valuable time of the people who are on the other end of their tirades.
Sounds awful, doesn’t it? And yet, I’m pretty sure most of us have experienced someone like this in our careers (or at least in our lives).
And while we can’t always change the behavior of someone else – even a subordinate – we can change the way that we respond to that person. In a workplace, that means having clear expectations, trying to give people the resources they need to do their jobs, and then holding people accountable for their actions and behaviors.
Both leaders talked to me about a pattern of letting the person “cool down” or even ignoring their remarks or emails to get past the situation.
But here’s the thing: If a workplace allows emotionally charged outbursts – either verbal or written – then there will be people who have outbursts, not just once but long-term. If an organization permits people to disrespect other employees – whether they are managers, peers, or subordinates – there will be people who are disrespectful.
Leaders set an example and the boundaries for how employees will treat each other, clients, stakeholders, etc. And those expectations and boundaries should be clearly articulated and observed.
No one likes to have difficult conversations, but managers who avoid a conversation about accountability today only set themselves up for a more difficult conversation in the future. It is easier to say, “Hey, everyone has a bad day once in a while, and I’m here to help, but that kind of behavior is not acceptable here,” rather than explain why the behavior was okay before but not acceptable now.
Further, someone who is “brilliant” or has some specialized skill and therefore “cannot be managed in the same way as everyone else” opens the door to a toxic culture. And in toxic cultures, people leave. Good people leave. It doesn’t matter how great the business model, strategic plan, or even the perks are.
The person who is doing everything right and doesn’t come with the emotional rollercoaster will eventually get tired of being on someone else’s ride, unchecked and without controls. And that’s one way culture eats strategy for breakfast.
Lisa McNeill is an ICF-certified coach and consultant who works with leaders in a wide array of industries as well as those in transition. Throughout her career, she has worked to build and develop strong teams in international, regional and grassroots settings.
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay