Swazi Observer

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BREEDING A NEGATIVE CULTURE

By Kholwaphi Mdziniso | 2020-01-21

ORGANISATIONS thrive through creating a positive culture that allows people to use their talents to benefit them, however, it does happen that a leader promotes a negative culture, at times without being aware of it.

A negative leader instils dread on team members but a poised leader let the people do what they were hired to and that is work.

Poised leaders do not intimidate team members by making them feel watched like a hawk, micromanage them in their tasks, track every move they make, or enact rules or policies that make them feel constrained and under 360 degrees surveillance.

Such behaviour is practiced by leaders who lead through fear. Micro-management breeds a negative culture that is marked by terror, timidity, and low morale.

Some of the significant signs that may indicate that a leader is breeding a negative culture are listed as follows and these are significant signs that you might be leading from anxiety. If they sound familiar, you need to drastically change your leadership style to clean up the toxic culture and begin creating success and happiness for yourself and your team.

Limited interact - When people keep to themselves and are scared to step out of line. If your employees and team members’ main goal is to keep their heads down and stay in their own lane, your organisation will not be competitive because the people are afraid to cross a line.

Order is maintained through punishment - People who work in punitive environments are frightened most of the time. It’ is incredibly demoralising to feel you are constantly being monitored to be caught doing something wrong. Effective leaders spend their time listening to people, solving problems and celebrating successes, not punishing people or trying to catch them doing something wrong.

People do not speak the truth or rather speak many truth - Under fear-based leadership, people are afraid to tell the truth because they already know no one wants to hear it. They keep problems and challenges to themselves because they know that bringing them into the open will not help and may even do them harm. The open communication that needs to happen for a team to work effectively is shut down completely.

People are constantly afraid of losing their jobs - When people work under a cloud of fear and suspicion, they act out of anxiety and timidity, and they are incapable of bringing their best. You cannot work well with the notion that you can lose your job over a misstep. Your job as leader is to bring the best out of people, and that’s not possible in a climate of fear.

People are terrified of messing up - When people have a leader who addresses problems by penalising someone, they learn to lay low and blame each other when things go wrong because they are scared to be the one called out for a mistake. It is one of the surest routes to a toxic culture.

Talent has no space and it does not advance - With a fear-based leader, the smartest and most competent people do not tend to advance. Instead, promotions go to those who most wholeheartedly embrace the culture and agree with whatever the leader says. Over time, unthinking agreement becomes the only way to get ahead.

People desire not to be visible - In a climate of fear, it is so hard for people to be authentic or present.

They keep to themselves, worried about making waves or standing out. The main goal of most employees becomes to avoid being noticed, which leads to mediocrity across the board.

If you recognise this culture, you need to know that leading through fear is doing direct harm to your leadership, your team and your organisation. It is likely that many of your most talented and gifted people have already left you, so take immediate steps to make the necessary changes before you lose the rest.

Real leaders lead from within and they create a positive culture that makes people thrive. As a leader, your job is to make people feel secure, safe and supported.

If you are instead creating havoc, control and anxiety, you are a fearful leader and need to make some changes so to create a desirable culture that enhances productivity and performance. A negative culture does not benefit anyone, instead it robs an organisation of productivity and realising synergy.

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