Management
Issue No. 42 - August/September 2008
‘No whinge’ zone a happy workplace
by Pamela Brombal
Having a great workplace culture can appear to be a rare luxury only a few businesses achieve.
Creating one is an elusive goal and one near impossible for some managers. People are often frustrated by their firm’s culture, with some describing their workplace as being dominated by negative and ‘toxic’ personalities.
Underhanded and manipulative infighting stifles growth, innovation and results, so to turn around toxic culture The Proteus Leadership Centres developed a powerful one-day workshop that focuses specifically on ‘Creating a Positive Culture’.
Here are some ideas from that workshop that may help you turn around your ‘toxic’ people and create a positive workplace culture.
Reflect the culture that you want
You must visualise the culture you want and model the behaviour accordingly. If you want a great culture it starts with you: ‘Culture is caught not taught’! When you model exceptional behaviour you set a standard and expectation for others to live up to. Requiring, but not modelling positive behaviour will at best frustrate
people and at worst be seen as hypocrisy and
increase cynicism.
Focus your energy on the right people
Positive, optimistic people not only inspire you but also celebrate your successes and encourage you to do more.
Don’t surround yourself with negative, miserable people. They will only bring you down to their level. Sure, always support and empathise with a person who is having a bad day, but be wary of persistently pessimistic people who are energy vampires.
Call people on their behaviour
The best way to eliminate toxic or negative behaviour is to call your negative people on their behaviour. Don’t indulge them. Alternatively, simply get rid of them - set your miserable people free!
Recognition is vital for a great culture
Spend most of your time giving people praise, recognition an...
