What is it that makes some organizations so attractive for employees while others have a difficulty filling their teams? What is it that makes work seem smooth and joy-filled in some organizations while work in other organizations seems to be a constant struggle?
The difference could at least to some extent be the organizational climate. Organizational climate is not something that is easy to point to and say ”look here it is”. Organizational climate is often something unspoken, unseen and unmeasured. Still, it has such big impact on how you feel, how you perform and how the teams collaborate.
So what is this unseen organizational climate anyway? Some say it is the glue that binds an organization together, others say it something fuzzy and/or spiritual that has nothing to do with the business world. The organizational climate is something very real and yes, it is spiritual because without spirit no organizations will reach their full potential. The climate is from the beginning created from the values and assumptions on which the organization is built and how they are shown in the daily work. It is added to by how leadership is carried out, by principles and protocols that get installed, by how meetings are facilitated and how people are rewarded. When the education of people are put only on the cost side of the budget and not seen as an investment, this adds to the climate.
Many organizations build their climate unconsciously. When we now know that it has such an impact on how the organization performs, why not try to create a climate that works for us? Why not add to a climate that supports the success of the organization? Sometimes we talk about two different organizational climates: Accepting and defensive. Most organizations have some of each. The one you feed, consciously or unconsciously, is the one that will grow and rule in the end.
So how do we nurture the accepting climate? I assume we want more of that kind rather than the defensive climate. One way to start is to ask the people in your organization to list features of an accepting climate that would support their work. Look at the list and see which of those features are already present in your organization and see what you can all do to strengthen and nourish them. Also take a look to see if there are things you use or do, such as protocols, rules, routines, methods that restrains the development of an accepting climate and is discouraging for the staff when they want to try things out and do their best at work. See if some of these can be removed or at least be given less importance.
To heighten the awareness about which type of climate you are feeding is the first step towards an accepting climate. You have just entered that journey. There are more quite simple next steps, that we provide through the tools of the Genuine Contact Program. The GCP is not the only way, but it is the best way we know of, to support a shift in the organizational climate, that benefits the whole organization with its people and clients.
Are you interested in learning more about simple next steps and other solutions for successful leaders and organizations? Join our newsletter and take a look at the upcoming workshops. You will most certainly find something useful!
Leave a Reply