Is Your Organization's Culture REALLY to Blame?
By Jim Loehr

Recently I conducted a seminar with thirty-two engineers from a profitable company who'd been sent to us not of their own desire. If it was up to them, it soon enough became obvious, they'd have preferred to undergo a colonoscopy and root canal simultaneously.

But because the head of their division felt it would be useful for them and thus for the company. I could tell that the brainpower in the room, judged on sheer intellectual payload, was staggering. Each engineer had a position of considerable authority, each had several direct reports, each was veteran enough at the company to feel part of the fabric that made it what it was.

Early in the session, I asked what might be done to improve their situations at work. Not a single hand went up. When I asked what they thought about their latest performance evaluations, the few who spoke expressed the same general idea: They were doing about as well as they expected; there wasn't much that would make things worse or better. It was what it was.

Over the next half hour, though, I was able to start eliciting some details. Many of them said they couldn't pay much attention to their health because, well, there was obviously no time to exercise before or after work, and to exercise in the middle of the afternoon would feel, as one said, "almost like you're irresponsible."

"Is there an actual rule against it?" I asked.

"It's unwritten," he said. "Everyone can feel it."

So there it was. The corporate culture was at fault. Nothing to be done about it. It was what it was.

I asked for a new show of hands: How many did get regular exercise? Four engineers out of thirty-two responded.

"They're single," said one of the others. Everyone laughed.

"Really?" I said. I turned to the Exercising Four. "How many of you have spouses and children?"

Three of the four raised their hands.

"You're married with kids, yet you work out," I said to them. "How is this possible?" I asked the three if they thought that the time they spent exercising was jeopardizing their careers, in the long term, or making it more difficult to get work done, in the short.

No, said each. "It makes me more productive," said one.

I then asked the whole group of thirty-two how many had dinner with their family at least three nights a week. Only five did...and -what do we have here? - three of the five were the Exercisers Married with Children.

Some people just figure it out. Why them and not others?

As we continued to talk, it became apparent gradually (engineers and scientists are tough nuts) that almost everyone in this room full of high-achievers and leaders felt as if they were caught in a brutal culture, one which allowed them no breathing room, which compromised their health. Many of them said outright it was the company's fault. But among the three who exercised and ate dinner regularly with their families, the prevailing attitude was, in the words of one, "If you have to blame the damn institution, then get out." Another said, "Don't be a victim. Your boss is not going to change."

Finally, I asked a question I thought might get a robust response. "How many of you think there's a lot of brilliance in this room?"

Every arm shot up.

"Suppose," I said, "that your boss walked in here and said, 'Okay, I want to use all the intelligence in this room to reverse-engineer a culture that would allow our people to take better care of themselves, to actually feel great enthusiasm and initiative about work, and to spend meaningful time with their family.'" I looked around the room. "What's the chance you could come up with that?"

Again, every arm went up.

"But wait," I said. "This new culture you're all going to create, this one that helps you feel healthier and more connected. Remember: It must continue to drive the bottom line. Is that really possible?" "Absolutely," said one excitedly, and I saw heads nod in agreement all around the room. "I'm certain we can do it. But no one's ever been willing to make and actually support that proposition."

If alignment of stories, yours and your organization's, is to be achieved - and I believe it's neither as lofty nor as complicated a task as it may sound - then it's ideally generated both from top down (the oranization's side) and bottom up (the employee's side). But let's not get carried away. For our purposes, let's presume zero input from the organization.

That means the burden to change stories is on you.

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TAKING ACTION THIS MONTH:
What's one step you can take this month to begin modeling the behaviour you would like to see in your organization?

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