HOW TO IMPROVE MORALE

walk a talk that is aligned with cultural values and a shared vision

Before the age of five, we have learned most of what we need to survive as human beings.  We learned what is really important not by listening, but by watching what the powerful adults in our life did.  Prior to developing verbal skills, we couldn’t understand what Mom and Dad said, so we paid close attention to visuals, instinctively knowing that action speaks louder than words. Signals at the boardroom table are no different than those flashed around the kitchen table.

by LSI publisher Art McNeil

Employees typically take their cues from what executives do–they imitate management behavior.  If the CEO focuses exclusively on reports while isolated in a corner office, the management team will be inclined to lock themselves away as well.  The organization will end up with everybody sequestered, in order to massage numbers.

After 35 years of management consulting, I’ve grown to understand that CEOs get from employees a mirror image of the management team’s behavior.  You’ve probably been exposed to the dysfunctional boss who gives an annual inspirational talk on becoming a market leader then spends the remaining 364 days checking expense reports, counting paperclips, and acting in a manner that signals everything but the desire to take the lead.  In situations like this, employees are conditioned to ignore speeches—rather, they read behavioral signals and act accordingly.