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Don’t Let Your Company Culture Be Too “Nice”
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Tip
Creating a “nice” company culture is a laudable goal. But has your company taken “niceness” too far? Is there dysfunction simmering beneath the surface? An insistence on politeness can result in a lack of honest communication, intellectual bravery, and accountability. If you’re concerned your organization’s culture has veered into toxic niceness, try these tactics.
- Reset expectations. Be explicit that you want people to give candid feedback and ask tough questions. This change won’t be easy so clearly explain the organization’s current state, future state, and how the transition between the two will work.
- Demonstrate vulnerability. Don’t expect others to usher in a new era of truth-telling if you haven’t modeled the behavior first. You must be the first mover, demonstrating fallibility, and showing people that candor is rewarded.
- Provide air cover for people who speak up. When people do express dissenting views don’t reprimand them — thank them.
Translations
🇨🇳 不要让你的公司文化过于“友好”
创造良好的企业文化是一个值得称赞的目标。但你的公司是否太过友好了?在表面之下是否有潜在的功能障碍?对礼貌的坚持可能会导致缺乏诚实的沟通、智力上的勇气和责任感。如果你担心你的组织文化已经转向有害的友好，试试这些策略。
- 重置期望。要明确地表示，你希望人们给出坦率的反馈，并提出尖锐的问题。这种改变并不容易，所以要清楚地解释组织的当前状态、未来状态，以及两者之间的转换将如何工作。
- 展示脆弱。如果你没有先树立榜样，就不要指望别人会迎来一个说真话的新时代。你必须是第一个行动的人，证明自己的易犯错误，并向人们表明坦诚是有回报的。
- 为敢于发声的人提供掩护。当人们表达不同意见时，不要责备他们，要感谢他们。
