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I just got done speaking in front of a group yesterday, and one of the things I speak about is that the employees interacting among themselves is a greater force than that of management. The employees make up their own culture, and that is more powerful than what a top executive can be to the work environment. A gentleman came up to me and disagreed with what I said. He thought if a CEO, or other executives wore Hawaiian shirts, instead of suits that would make a big difference in the culture. I agree with that: Top management does make a difference in the total environment.
What I am talking about is the day-to-day contact that employees have with each other that top executives don't have.
Dot com companies in the 90’s were famous for having anti-business cultures, in which traditional suits and ties, white shirts, starting times and ending times were disregarded. The CEO of a dot com company might have a open space as an office and games, basketball courts, shorts and tennis shoes, and a few Hawaiian shirts as the company code.
Yes, in those cases the top management makes a big difference in the companies’ culture. But the people still had to like each other to co-exist in these alternative cultures.
Today many of those companies have come back to more traditional business settings. Yes, it is true many dot comers are now in white shirts. But this is not the point; the people have to co-exist in their business environment.
For the majority of us, we live in the traditional business setting. And in that traditional setting the people that are working together are regularly interacting, and the biggest amount of time and energy is spent with co-workers, not upper-management. Even in a non-traditional role, the people who are playing basketball with the CEO at 9 am instead of calling customers are a big part of the environment. There are people who prefer the more structured environment, and there are those who actually may prefer no structure at all. Whatever environment you find yourself in, the people that are around you all day make a difference in how you feel about your work.
If you do not like your co-workers, will it make a difference if you’re in Hawaiian shirts, or white shirts and ties?
Yes, the top man and executives do make a tremendous amount of difference in what the company is. Is the company honest, doing the right things? Does the company take care of its customers? Does the company value you?
The people at the top do make difference, but in the end your interaction with the people you are in contact with every day is going to make up your working experience. Take away the interaction of you and your workers and what do you have?
They say people quit because of their boss, but the boss they are talking about is the one who directly interacts with you, not the president of the company in another state.
There was a survey conducted of millions of employees in the United States by Gallup Research, and the findings of millions of people in different businesses around the country could be distilled into 12 questions. If these 12 questions were asked, and the employees scored high on these 12 questions, the business did well in return of investment. One of these questions that determined whether or not a business was succeeding was, “do you have a best friend at work.”
Powerful information to employers: If people in the company liked each other, the business did much better.
You could have the same home supply store, or the same fast food store, in similar if not better markets, and if the people didn’t like each other, the business did not generally do well.
Yes, a top executive makes a difference, but the real difference is how the people interact among themselves. The real culture of the company is evidenced by how the employees feel and treat each other on a daily basis. That makes the real difference.
If you have spent any time in the work force you have been in a situation were you did not like one of your co-workers that you had to be in contact with all the time. How did that make you feel? If you complained to top management did it make a difference in the long run? I have in my working career tried to get to another location in the company so I could avoid contact with someone.
I have quit because I have had to have contact with someone that made my life miserable every day I went to work.
Top management might be able to fix situations like this. However the real power is with local management and the people that work in the trenches every day.
Where is the real culture of the company? I still suggest it is with the people who are in daily contact with each other. You and the people with whom you work make all the difference to your working experience.
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