Driving home from work, I love listening to the radio. I either catch up on the day’s news or zone out to eighties hits – INXS’s early stuff never gets old. One night, though, I was struck by a dirty little secret from Australian culture change ‘gurus’ that they never reveal.
The ‘guru’ problem
I was listening to a business culture guru explaining how leaders need to develop a credible vision and build a cohort of people to follow them into the future of unbounded prosperity. Sage advice. He continued to explain the traits of leadership and the importance of building a supportive culture which rewards the values of the organisation. Great, really heading in the right direction now, the discussion and my driving.
Then the radio host asks the culture guru:
‘So, what do you do when you find some staff aren’t buying into the vision or culture?’
Response:
‘Well, you get rid of them.’
For context this response was not framed as easing people out of the workplace but firing them rather just get rid of them. Additionally, this is a line I have heard from a number of culture gurus here in Australia. Within this line is the dirty little secret from Australian culture change ‘gurus’ don’t talk about – a bit like fight club.
Plenty of literature discusses cultural issues and firing staff who don’t toe the line. However, the problem with this approach from culture gurus and the literature is that it’s not that simple.
In Australia, collective agreements often include clauses about staff performance. Even when there is not a collective agreement, navigation to termination can be difficult. The glib line ‘get rid of them’ is unrealistic rhetoric, often from those who have not navigated employment agreements correctly.
An alternative view
While the sentiment may be correct; that there may need to be a parting of the ways, making such statements as ‘get rid of them’ is dangerous and placing leaders in vulnerable positions. Some leaders may even begin to doubt themselves when confronted with the complex issue of staff performance and matching staff behavior to organisational values. This confusion in leaders may occur because the gurus are telling leaders to ‘get rid of them’ and when leaders try this it turns into a long, complex and sometimes very costly process, leaving leaders doubting themselves about why they couldn’t execute on what they are being told is a simple thing to do. I would put forward what should occur is leaders should try to develop a deep understanding of the systems working within and around their organisation; then decide the best course of action for the circumstance leaders find themselves in.
Conclusion
Culture gurus rarely share the truth: flashy tactics don’t resolve staff resistance to organisational culture. Leaders tackle the challenge of changing a business by adopting a holistic approach. They define the desired vision for the business, identify key behaviours, position the right people in suitable roles, drive performance, execute daily, and work towards their goals.
Maybe I should just listen to more eighties tunes on the way home……………………
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