Cultural Monoxide is the silent killer of organizational culture. This is not a scientific phenomenon, just a looming threat to our abilities to build quality culture within the workplace. It will suffocate and disrupt the heartbeat of who desire to be as an organization.
Carbon Monoxide
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines its counterpart in the science world as carbon monoxide (CO), “an odorless gas that can kill you.” Pretty straightforward. Science wasn’t my strong suit, but I do know that it is a dangerous fume generated from burning gas. If the toxic fumes are not ventilated properly, the results can be deadly to those who are exposed.
Cultural Monoxide
The same is true for an organization. If the toxic fumes within our organization’s culture are not vented properly, it can produce deadly levels of cultural monoxide. The toxic fumes left undetected can slowly and silently kill the organizational culture we worked so hard to build.
What is Culture?
Organizational culture can be summed up by the way our teams feel when they are present at work. The behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and the simple feel of the workplace make up our cultures. It is everything to an organization. Peter Drucker said that, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
In order to combat cultural monoxide, we need to know these four basic principles:
Proper Venting
As it relates to CO, most houses have at least one furnace that is operated off of gas that provides heat during the winter. In my house, the furnace is in the basement. There is a vent that runs from the unit to the roof where the toxic fumes escape. In open air, the fumes are no longer a hazard to our family’s health.
Toxic gases need to be ventilated properly. They need to vent up and out to open air. When people get sick or die from CO poisoning it’s because the system failed. There was a fitting loose, a hole in the ductwork, or the furnace was not functioning properly. Whatever the cause, the fumes are pushed out laterally through the house, room by room, rather than ventilated vertically out into the open.
From a Cultural Monoxide perspective, people can find it easier to vent laterally rather than elevating their problems vertically to those who can solve them. There are very few circumstances where venting to a co-worker is healthy. The toxic part is when our griping, our discontent, and our disagreement gets pushed out laterally through the organization, person by person, rather than ventilated vertically out into the open. In the open, resolution is a possibility.
As leaders, we must create cultures where there is a conduit for proper venting. If the pipe gets clogged, the fumes leak out, it can cause irreversible damage to our desired culture.
Sound the Alarm
Unless they are hardwired, most CO detectors need regular battery changes. The batteries allow a signal to be sent when something is wrong. When CO alarms detect the toxic fumes, they sound an alarm. They are far from silent, in fact quite loud. They relentlessly sound off until the air is clear.
Ever had that peer continually vent to you? Remember this…our failure to sound the alarm, our silence, is inherent agreement with EVERYTHING they are saying. Do them a favor and offer to go to leadership together to share their concerns. Let them know that if they do not, you will. Our decision to act or not act develops culture…every time.
Recognize the Symptoms
The CDC lists the most common symptoms of CO exposure on their website. Symptoms include, “headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion.” The symptoms lead to the poisoning of one’s body.
An organization with Cultural Monoxide exposure can experience similar symptoms. Stress and anxiety created by a negative work environment can cause poisoning. The CDC goes on to say, “People…can die from CO poisoning before they have symptoms.” Leaders that are out of touch with the pulse of their organization may not see the symptoms until it is too late for treatment, leading to the eventual death of good organizational culture.
Just like the medical world, recognition of the symptoms allows for a treatment plan to be developed. The longer the symptoms exist without a prescription, an organization’s health will continue to deteriorate.
Prevention is Key
Detection in advance is key for dealing with Carbon Monoxide or Cultural Monoxide. Being proactive and making sure we have the systems in place to detect the toxicity in the air is crucial. Failure in the preventative phase can lead to serious consequences.
As leaders, we can put many preventative measures in place to detect Cultural Monoxide. THE most important is listening. Simon Sinek has a great quote where he says, “Hearing is listening to what is said. Listening is hearing what isn’t said.” Listening at this intentional level gives us an accurate pulse of our organizations.
The naïve leader wants to believe our culture is perfect. It is natural, we work hard for it and not a single one of us desires a bad culture. If the rhythm of the organization’s heartbeat is off, we need to be in tune with it. Preventative measures are the best way to maintain a healthy rhythm and increase organizational performance.
Conclusion
Remember this important thing…culture starts at the top. The person we look at every day in the mirror is ultimately responsible for the culture. It seems unfair, but it’s a burden the leader must bear. Culture is constantly being built, with every good thing positively reinforced, but also with every bad behavior ignored.
Leaders have an awesome responsibility to create a desirable workplace. A place where people feel welcome, at home, and like they are part of a family. Developing a positive an enjoyable work environment for the people we lead is crucial. It’s a cause worth fighting for daily.
Are we up for the fight against this silent killer?