Stop Being Dysfunctional
Are you familiar with the term “dysfunctional family?” The simple definition is a family whose members don’t work and play well with each other.
Such relationships typically create emotional, mental, sometimes even physical distress and/or estrangement.
Have you ever heard of a dysfunctional company?
If not, perhaps this definition will sound familiar: A dysfunctional company is one whose members don’t work and play well with each other.
Such relationships typically create emotional, mental, sometimes even physical distress, and/or estrangement.
Someone once said, “Friends we choose – family we’re stuck with.” But what about business relationships; we certainly get to choose those, don’t we?
So why are there dysfunctional businesses?
The answer is actually quite simple and it’s the common denominator in both businesses and families – human beings.
If your family, or company, is dysfunctional, it’s because of the behavior of the humans.
Humans aren’t inherently bad, but we are inherently self-absorbed. And one of the by-products of self-absorption is self-preservation.
When self-preservation shields are up, mistrust flourishes, goals go unmet and failure is likely. When shields are down, productivity, creativity and organizational well-being are evident.
But the latter only happens if it’s believed that there is a basis for trust.
If your organization is not accomplishing its goals and making progress, look around to see if there is more self-preservation going on than teamwork. Where evidence of individual and departmental self-preservation is found, you will also find lots of dysfunction, but not much trust.
In his book, Build On Trust my friend Arky Ciancutti goes so far as to say that trust is “…one of the most powerful forces on earth.” He adds that the two most powerful trust-building tools are closure and commitment.
Closure is implied when a transaction ends with a promise to deliver by a stated time. Closure happens when performance, or a progress report, is actually delivered on time.
Commitment, Arky says, “Is a condition of no conditions.” When the relationship between two parties is built on trust, there are no hidden agendas. And while commitment might not guarantee results, it does guarantee a progress report, in the alternative.
Even though closure and commitment are skills that often must be learned, you’ll find willing participants in your employees, because human beings desire trust.
If your organization doesn’t have a culture of trust, it’s not the employees’ fault.
Leadership, trust and dysfunction all have one key thing in common, they’re gravity fed. They all roll downhill.
Successful managers must learn trust-building skills, manage with them, and instill them in others. Create and maintain what your people desire – an organization built on trust.
Write this on a rock… If organizational dysfunction is a poison, trust is its antidote.
Jim Blasingame
Small Business Expert and host of The Small Business Advocate Show
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