Ducks In A Row: Ultimatums Trash Culture
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009As you probably know there are hundreds of ways to mess up a culture and a lack of authenticity is one of the big ones.
There’s a lot about written about authenticity, but are you aware that one of the quickest ways to announce your lack of authenticity is to issue ultimatums?
Thousands of times a day, day after day, bosses in every industry, in companies both large and small, issue “or else” ultimatums, sometimes without even realizing it.
These threats aren’t always direct (Do it or start looking.), more often, they are subtle (“I expect employees who work here to be team players.”), but the threat is there: Do X if you want to keep your job.
Obviously, this is not only atrocious management, since
- threats are tremendously debilitating to those receiving them, often costing them the confidence to do their job; but
- the manger who uses threats loses the most—the credibility to run the organization.
Bad enough, but beyond the direct effect of the threats, there is a ripple effect that is far worse—the seeding of a self-propagating culture of intimidation—as with hazing people start thinking, “I’ll do it to you because the person above did it to me [and I want to get even].”
Ultimatums kill creativity, innovation, motivation, caring, ownership, in fact, everything it takes to create a culture that allows a company to successfully compete in today’s economy.
If intentional you need to look long and hard at your MAP and decide if that’s who are and how you want to be, then change—or not.
When not intentional, ultimatums are often the result of poor communications but they can be stopped—the choice is yours and yours alone.
If you do it you can change it.
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Image credit: flickr