Dive Brief:
- Much is written about improving workplace culture, but according to an expert writing at Talent Management, company cultures are often created by chance, where things happen both "intentionally and unintentionally."
- While slogans typically are part of a cultural change effort, used alone they can't define or create a positive culture, writes Aubrey Daniels, an expert on management, leadership and workplace. Most employers say the right things, but find trouble when trying to turn words into actions, he explains.
- One negative result of saying one thing but doing another: regarding culture is employee confusion. Trust is key, and confusion stymies that.
Dive Insight:
In creating a positive culture based on concepts such as honesty, kindness and cooperation, employers need to break each of those characteristics into specific behaviors. And no one is exempt, he writes. If senior management and all managers don’t walk the talk, employee trust will disappear, and engagement and discretionary effort will disappear with it, according to Daniels.
To begin turning a negative culture into a positive one via behavior, Daniels offers four fundamental steps for management: Pay close attention of your interactions with employees, identify what individuals find reinforcing, establish yourself as a reinforcer, and go out of your way to reinforce good work.
