Leaders must be visible and vocal about the culture they want for the organization. And because having the right culture is especially important in turbulent times (mergers, acquisitions, etc.), leaders should communicate even more about the expected behaviors during those times.

Unfortunately, turbulent times tend to distract executives from the culture message. All the attention goes to tactical performance and to processes. The focus shifts to rules and away from values. Turbulent times are the worst times to shift focus because they breed situations not covered by existing rules. When employees have no rules to help them make decisions, they are supposed to turn to values and culture.

If you are planning a big change in your organization, put culture management at the top of your to-do list.

I received a new mobile phone at work yesterday, the type that doesn’t have an auxiliary output to connect it to a headset or a speaker.

I enjoyed my upgrade until I got in my car to drive home. That’s when I remembered that my car doesn’t have Bluetooth. The only way to connect my phone to my car speakers is through an aux cable.

So last night I went on Amazon and bought a bluetooth car adapter to solve my problem. It dawned on me that I could have bought that adapter years ago, saving me the hassle of connecting the aux cable to my phone every time I got in the car. Perhaps because the hassle wasn’t so great, I never thought of it.

This situation made me wonder how many problems in my E&C program at work appear to be invisible simply because they are small enough. How many could we fix immediately if we only noticed them? How can we get better at noticing them?

I know that I often felt a small twinge of resentment when I got in my car and had to plug my phone in. Every time, I wished I had a newer car where the phone automatically connects via Bluetooth. I felt that twinge but I dismissed it. I didn’t pay attention. It was easier to dismiss it in the moment, each time, than to look for a solution. And so perhaps it is at work. We forget that spending an hour to fix a one-minute problem makes sense when this problem shows up every day.

The key is to pay attention.

It used to be that employees would walk out only for better wages or benefits.

Today they take to the streets (or social media) to protest other practices, like tolerating discrimination or sexual harassment.

What negative aspects of your corporate culture have you neglected while tending to more important matters? Are you ready for them to go public?

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Hat tip to Dr. Patricia Harned

“If your culture is weak, your immune system is weak and you’re going to be susceptible to every example of bad behavior.”

Arianna Huffington

I don’t know if Huffington meant to say that culture affects an organization’s immune system or if she believes that culture is the immune system.

Personally, I like the idea that culture is your immune system. Even when you eat well, exercise vigorously and rest sufficiently, a small scratch from a rusty nail will require a strong response from the immune system. Similarly in an organization, even if you have clear policies, comprehensive training and robust controls, you will need strong values to kick in when existing rules don’t apply to a new situation.

How strong are your values?

The typical voluntary separation package (VSP) includes one week of pay per year of service and some continuing health benefits.

Imagine if it also included benefits linked to the company’s purpose and the employee’s potential, like skills training and industry job placement.

A company’s VSP can tell you a lot about why people work there.

I am part of a leadership team that annually evaluates the performance and skills of about 60 colleagues.

The process is simple: for each of 13 skills, we determine if the colleague has learned the skill or is still learning it. Our purpose is not to rank and s(t)ack. It is not to embarrass anyone (we don’t publish the information). Our goal is simply to identify who needs help and what training would benefit the most people.

On the surface, it might look like we are evaluating others. In reality, we are evaluating ourselves. The process shines a light on whether we, as a leadership team, are doing a good job at helping our colleagues grow.

Sometimes, we have ideas that can easily be defeated by a good argument.

How we react to the argument typically depends on how attached we are to the idea. We fold quickly for ideas that we don’t care about and fight vigorously for those we cherish.

This doesn’t make any sense. How much we love an idea has no bearing on the validity of the argument against it. And developing “clever” counter-arguments doesn’t make us look clever at all.

During the life of an organization, some events create uncertainty for the employees. A new benefits program, an acquisition, a divestiture, a new leader, a prosecution – all can create anxiety.

When announcing these events, most companies choose to focus exclusively on the benefits of the changes. In doing so, they completely ignore their employees’ anxieties for fear of creating panic. Honestly, would it be so damaging to sneak one of these sentences in the memo?

• We realize that moving to this new health insurer will force some employees to find a new doctor. Given the very personal nature of a doctor/patient relationship, this change will be difficult for some of you. This is why we set up a special helpline to assist you in finding a new doctor.
• All good acquisitions generate synergies, which means that some redundant positions will have to be eliminated. Whenever possible, affected employees will be assigned to a new position. In some cases, a relocation might be necessary. A special team of HR professionals has been set up to answer any question you might have.
• Despite her extraordinary experience as a leader, our new president is also new to our industry. She will need to learn about our business, about our competitors and our suppliers, and we count on all of you to help her do this quickly. As she learns, she may also propose changes to some of our long-standing practices. While this may feel unsettling, it can also represent opportunities for quantum leaps.

Ignoring the fears does not make them go away. In fact, it amplifies them. Give your employees some psychological air by validating and addressing their anxieties.

“Wait until she looks the other way.”

This was my friend’s advice when, as boys, we wanted to blow spitballs in class without being caught by the teacher. We went undetected every time, except when another student was willing to report us.

Corporate wrongdoers often use the same strategy. They wait for the business to look the other way before striking. Common distractions include acquisitions, mergers, divestitures and prosecutions. Rapid growth periods are also very distracting.

Is your business distracted right now? If so, alert your ethics and compliance department.