This month we are looking at F is for Fear Culture and I thought we’d also touch on Feedback too – as I don’t think one can exist whilst the other is present.  I also felt that it follows on nicely from my last newsletter as a fear culture in an organisation is often caused by someone whose management style is well known and talked about but never challenged.  It’s their attitudes or behaviours, emotional outbursts or inhibiting body language that drives the fear in the organisation.  And this is a real shame, because sometimes the person who is exhibiting these behaviour may not necessarily see it.  They may think they are demonstrating tough love and getting to the crux of matters but in actual fact, the opposite is happening.

We’ve all been in fear of something at some stage in our life and know that it stops us from achieving our best as we’re not quite as open or fully present as we should be.  We don’t learn and help others and so our levels of creativity and collaboration drop …. and as for our passion for what we’re doing … well that’s usually flown out of the window!  Instead we spend our time in worry mode, especially if the consequences are large.  The loss of our job, means loss of income, friends, our daily routine and the standards we’ve become accustomed to, etc.  But the pain isn’t only felt by the individual, it’s also felt by the company because if you’re feeling, thinking and behaving in such a way you can bet your bottom dollar that your productivity has plummeted as well. When we feel nervous or anxious the fear can manifest itself in many ways.  The adrenalin surging through our veins increases producing our fear response of either fight or flight.  This means that we either stand up for what we believe in and speak out, or put up with what is going on around us and keep quiet.    Often when we’re anxious, we daren’t raise our head above the parapet to complain, because we feel it’s not worth it.

When the Whistleblower spoke out about the culture at Barclays in 2012, he said that ‘Anyone could have made a complaint. It would have been investigated because they have to. But you know that that person being complained about has been brought in to get people to do more. So you wouldn’t win. The culture would be encouraged by senior people. And if you want to get paid you have to put up with it. If you complain about it, they are very clever. They won’t fire you instantly, they will demoralise you. They will move you on to a job you don’t want to do. In the end, they will manage you out on the basis you have lost interest.’

So if you were wondering whether job fears are good motivators for productivity – think again.  Fear is only valuable when you’re in a life-threatening situation, beyond that, it’s a huge barrier as no-one can act authentically when they are living in fear.  They’re doing it because they have to, not because they want to.  So if you’re wondering what a fear culture looks like, see if you recognise any of the following:

• people work late because their boss works late – they may not necessarily have work to do, but they keep their heads down because to leave before their boss means that they are seen as less productive.
• staff are admonished in public.  By publicly telling people off, either in front of others or via email, it reinforces a culture of people not speaking out of turn.
• you see little pockets of people who work with the fear mongers – they call them ‘yes’ men.  They’re usually nice to your face but you can feel them stabbing you in the back as you walk away.
• your organisation is dependent on policies where people ask for permission to do things rather than feeling empowered to get on and do the job in hand.  By gaining permission there is always someone else to blame for the decision!  And if you follow the policy by the letter, you can’t be held to task for it.
• people review knowledge and information as power rather than a way of developing and engaging with everyone.  It’s often regarded as distrust.  It also means that the organisation is putting itself in a position of risk.  What if the only person with the knowledge had to take a serious amount of time off work very suddenly – how would the company operate?
• instead of social chitchat being seen as a way of creating positive relationships across the business it is frowned upon and employees fear being seen having a chat.
• and my number one pet hate is when employees are reminded that they’re lucky to have jobs.

So how can we improve company culture and stamp out the fear?  The best way is to create a collaborative culture as there is no place for fear when we share, discuss and provide feedback.   At the beginning of this newsletter I said that one can’t exist when the other is present and I really do believe this is true.  If you don’t have feedback in an organisation, nothing gets held to account.  Yet as soon as we create a culture based on open communications and clear expectations, fear has no place to hide.  People have the courage to act and provide feedback as they know they will be supported.  So if you’re looking to get rid of any fear inducing behaviours in your organisation, here are my top four things to do ….

1. Treat everyone with respect whatever role they play in the organisation.  Bad behaviour, whether it is bullying or rudeness shouldn’t be tolerated from anyone
2. Increase levels of communication by sharing good and bad news to remove the grapevine and gossip.  This also enables everyone to develop their knowledge and skills.  If there is something that is sensitive, let them know you will tell them as soon as you possibly can.
3. When mistakes are made, recognise that we are all human.  Technical mistakes can be rectified by training and development, but the ones to take more seriously are those that are based on ethical and/or moral codes of conduct.
4. Go out of your way to seek regular feedback to understand what is working and what can be improved.  If fear is lurking, establish what people are feeling and why.  Clarify their perceptions and then develop their trust by following through on actions and then ask them for further feedback.

Can people in your organisation speak up without feeling they will be shot down? I’ve just read some research from the American Quality Foundation that states you may be instilling fear through three facial expressions: judgment, uncertainty or dismissal. Having researched almost 600 companies they discovered that doubt and uncertainty are the qualities most likely to jump-start cycles of fear and mistrust in businesses.  I’ll leave you on that note with a little homework for April.

Practice your authentic ‘listening’ and ‘interested’ facial expressions during the month and then let me know if your people are more open with you!!