Episode #183: ELIMINATING CORPORATE CULTURE HYPOCRISY

Company associates detest corporate leadership that is hypocritical. Very few factors have the power to stifle a corporate culture transformation. However, being led by executives who practice hypocritical behavior can derail a well-orchestrated transformation. C-level leadership is constantly under the associate microscope. Why? The answer is simple. Followers want a leader who demonstrates the corporate culture tenants. Associates will follow authenticity and integrity, but they will shun a phony persona every minute of the day. We encourage you to soak up a five-minute show that lays out three ideas for creating healthier companies. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

All right, Mr. Simple Biz Guide to show.

Speaker 2: 0:09

Hello everybody. Jeff Mason, your host of the Simple Biz 360 podcast. We are so happy you're here today. We are on YouTube, IGT v Gab TV, and 28 listening platforms, all your favorites. We would love a follow subscription or a five star rating only if we deserved it, but we would love you to plug in that way with us. And we are only gonna spend five minutes today. So we're gonna talk today about avoiding the dangers of corporate culture hypocrisy. And I just wanna start by a little story to kind of illuminate what I mean. And that is, uh, we were abs at the company one time that was asked to read a book by an executive, an ex executive. And this book was all about the corporate culture that the company wanted us to follow. And if you could have been a fly on the wall in the break room to hear the, um, astonishing conversations between us associates about how we're reading this book and realizing that they're asking us to beat to an entirely different drum than the mid-level managers or the executive tier is beating to. And it was really, uh, disconnecting. It was alienating. It was, uh, it was a horrible call on the company's part because they really didn't realize they, they resembled nothing like this corporate culture in the book yet they wanted us to follow it. So it actually ended up hurting the company and it was divisive. And the reason I decided to do this show is not because of that experience, but I was on a, um, I was on a LinkedIn digital dialogue the other day as part of a, uh, I was one of the featured speakers on a panel. And the comment came up as you, if you want your digital transformation to really be successful, you've gotta make sure that you know, your corporate culture is void of any hypocrisy because this, this digital transformation is a cultural change. And so somebody, you know, put a nice comment in there, in the chat box, yeah, this is important. And I figured, you know what, we should probably do a show out of this. So, you know, I've been an executive sat at the boardroom table and here's what I'd throw out as a first suggestion. And that is adopt a boardroom humility. I mean, really, um, all the C-level personnel and the mid-level managers, you gotta ask yourself, Hey, uh, are we behaving and acting in a way that is consistent with the, the, the actions we want from our other employees? In other words, is this culture really sewn together or are you meeting, you know, are you on different levels and operating differently? Cuz don't forget those associates, they, they see you are demonstrating how you are acting, uh, or you're demonstrating your beliefs on how you're acting. So if they see you being, uh, countercultural to the company culture, th they pick it up right away. So that's the first thing. Um, second thing is grab an or once in a while and row, why not? I mean, have you ever just, uh, decided to, you know, get together with some of the entry level people and the ground level people and the customer facing people and just say, you, you know what? Let me, uh, let me, you know, for this next half hour, let me take over the customer service phone while you go to lunch or for this hour, whatever the lunch period is, why don't you grab an, or get to get to really know your company and understand what it's like. It's so helpful and it really, it starts to bind that company culture together better. And you learn a whole lot as an executive or mid-level manager by picking up that headset, grabbing that phone, and being a customer service rep for an hour. You, it, it'll be a, it'll be a fascinating experience. And, and the, uh, you know, the next thing I would say is just, you know, uh, build, I mean, build your cornerstone by a lead by example format or, or, you know, make sure that if you are asking other people to do something, are you leading the troops by example? Again, they're looking to you to set the tone. So if you are not a, you know, abiding by the tone you're asking to be set, then you're, you're on a brutal cornerstone. Why don't you build a strong cornerstone that's sturdy and lead by example, and then the bonuses just, and there is a bonus. Just do a little M B W A, you know, management by walking around. Uh, I was, I just did a factory tour with the ceo, uh, a couple weeks ago and I was fascinated. Uh, it's about, uh, 40 people in the factory. This c e o knew everyone's name. He knew a little bit about their life. He knew a little bit about the complexities or issues or conditions or health situations or, uh, people were moving people, you know, he, he knew about these things and he could talk current events with that person, you know, as it related to their life. It was refreshing. You could see it in their eyes. They responded so favorably to it because they said, this is a CEO that's managing by walking around, but he cares. He's, he's in the same culture he's asking me to be in. So I just say, uh, you know, learn from that and, and try, try those three things in the bonus round. I think you'll really find, um, it will be, uh, very, very helpful to building a better culture and removing any hypocrisy that can damage that cultural, those cultural threads. So what are we gonna do today? We're gonna leave you with a cool rock and roll tune. Credence Clear Water Revival. Yes, the, uh, the Fogerty Brothers, uh, Stu Cook and, uh, it was the other gentleman, Doug Clifford. I keep forgetting Doug all the time, but outta El Cerrito, California. Uh, this is off their Green River album, 1969 commotion. And, you know, let's get rid of that crazy commotion and build an nice culture in our companies. Thank you for tuning in and we will see you in 168 hours.