3. Focus on outcomes

Too often we get caught up in the weeds and brambles of workplace life. We lose sight of the bigger picture, the shared goals of our collective ventures. We get tangled up in personality differences and personal preferences, confusing these with important outcomes. We seek to control how people work, rather than discussing what their work produces through time.

In my view, we need to focus on both workplace wellness and productivity as shared outcomes. Of course, we are held accountable for meeting our formal goals–serving clients, producing widgets, and generating sales. But we also need to see the quality of the work environment as a significant and enduring goal. Meeting production goals in an environment that corrodes morale and wellness is like strip mining. It works for while, but in the end, it leaves desolation and despair.

4. Be tolerant of individual gifts and vulnerabilities–including your own

Each of us is a unique bundle of gifts and vulnerabilities. (I much prefer these words to “strengths and weaknesses”). Some things come easily to us; others require a great deal of work and discipline. At times, we discover that there are certain kinds of vulnerabilities that we simply have to learn to live with.

There are scores of useful tools for exploring differences in personal style(s). Don’t be afraid to incorporate them into professional development sessions for community members. This is one area in which leaders can really model the way. By sharing their own gifts and vulnerabilities non-defensively, they also add another building block to the foundation of trust.

5. Stress teamwork. be prepared for conflict

Over the years, I’ve written a few columns on teamwork, but there have been far more dealing with the squabbles, tensions, and downright toxic messes that attempts at teamwork often produce. Teamwork, which is essentially an intentional approach to workplace collaboration, is wonderful in the abstract but challenging in reality.

That’s why I always include a session on conflict management styles when I am asked to help with teambuilding. It is absolutely critical that people learn about their personal approaches to handling conflict; otherwise they are at the mercy of their own vulnerabilities time and again.

6. Clarify boundaries and expectations

Organizations these days need to be resilient and flexible in facing their challenges. I suspect that’s why detailed, top-down long-range plans have fallen from grace. We now speak of shared visions and core values. And that’s a wonderful thing because they help to create shared space and expectations. People working together are aligned in their purposes and practices.

I’ve found that it is worthwhile to clarify boundaries regarding appropriate behaviour. Most of the toxic organizational messes I have encountered over the years resulted from a few people acting in completely inappropriate ways to “manage” their problems with others. That’s a form of organizational profanity and it needs to be confronted early on. The best way is to work together to name specifically the “things we don’t do here” and to ban them from the workplace.

7. Encourage ALL to learn about change

Change has been one of the enduring themes of Your Workplace content over the years. If anything, the pace and complexity of change has increased since I first began my columns. (The very first column I wrote had the catchy title, “Keep the Change Please.”) A failure to understand and manage the complex processes of change can lead to a major workplace meltdown.

I am always struck by how little people understand about the stages of adult changes or transitions. Change is never easy as we move through the predictable stages of endings, middle zones, and beginnings. People panic and seek refuge in the comfortable past, rather than working together to implement the changes that are relevant for the organization. That’s why I suggest that scheduling a workshop or two on processes of change is essential if you want to maintain workplace health.

8. Build a culture of supportive feedback

Too often, we get trapped in repetitive cycles of defensive communication. Active listening breaks down into circles of gossip and interpersonal triangles. Instead of working through problems early, clearly, and gently with honest adult communication, we regress to the elementary schoolyard stage. To put it bluntly, we find ourselves in what some call a BMW culture… Bitching, Moaning, and Whining.

In a healthy organization, people feel free to express themselves without fear. And they have the skills to do just that. They have learned to provide their colleagues–up, down, and sideways–with supportive feedback about performance and relationships. They know how to avoid triangles, and they know how to make appropriate requests for changes when necessary.

Article originally published in Volume 10-5 of Your Workplace magazine