Great company culture can propel your company to the next level. Bad company culture can send your employees running and profits plummeting. Trust makes the difference. The good news: the leader is both responsible and able to make things right.
Trust helps your organization succeed on all levels. From the client-business relationship to the employee-boss relationship. An open and honest company culture where employees feel safe determines a successful company. Businessman and author Lou Gerstner once said, “corporate culture is not part of the game: It is the game.”
An environment of trust and openness starts with you. As your company grows, challenges arise and growing pains are inevitable. If your employees feel trusted, they feel empowered to make the best decision in the moment. They’ll also feel comfortable coming to you for advice and you both will be able to move forward faster.
On the other hand, if your employees who work within the black hole of distrust operate just like a real black hole. They suck up a lot of time and money hesitating on how to handle business crisis and major decisions. Analysis Paralysis.
Is your company operating in a black hole of distrust? Here are some recognizable signs to diagnose a problem.
Turnover
Are people quitting? Especially people in leadership roles? High levels of turnover can be a sign you need to reestablish trust in your company culture. During exit interviews, ask questions about what they would change about the company culture. Take this insight and improve. Anonymous surveys from current employees can also yield valuable insights.
Engagement
Engaged employees are excited to be in the office. They often volunteer for tasks outside their scope of work, have a positive attitude, take part in culture events, and are proactive with their projects. Engaged employees share the company’s goals and take a proactive part in achieving them.
Underperformance
Look for trends in performance. Consistent trends of underperformance across multiple employees means it’s time to assess your culture. How are you tracking performance? Are your teams setting SMART goals — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound? If not, it’s time to revamp your metrics for success.
Earn Trust
Trust makes your team resilient, and capable of doing what most teams can’t or won’t. And with business constantly changing, it’s part of the job to build flexibility into your team through trust. If you see employees not adapting to these changes or becoming defiant to change, there could be an underlying problem. Make yourself available for open feedback and communication to discover the root cause.
Establishing trust in a culture that’s in the black hole of distrust can seem like a daunting task, but it can be done. At Mac6, we offer collaborative coworking and comanufacturing spaces to help you focus on growing your business and scaling your teams with trust at the core. Contact us to learn more!