Five Organizational Pitfalls of Being Locked Into the Wrong Team Culture

At the heart of every organization are the people. Herb Kelleher, the co-founder of Southwest Airlines, said it best; “If we take care of our people, our people will take care of our customers.” The culture of an organization, winning or otherwise, starts at the top and the people within the organization project that culture on to colleagues and customers alike.

So, what does it mean to have, and what are the results from having, the “wrong culture?” Such organizations will suffer in five interdependent areas.

1. Weak Leadership: Leaders tend not to push themselves and consequently not push their followers. Average becomes the norm.

2. Non-existent Teamwork: When followers do not have the respect of the leader, stovepipes, silos and buckets harden and individualistic behavior broadens.

3. Lack of Quality Talent: When the culture of an organization is weak, that weakness shows in the interview process, encouraging potential applicants of quality to go elsewhere.

4. Ineffective Planning: The wrong culture embraces a lack of mental planning which results in last minute rushing and poor quality of work.

5. Unproductive Decision Making: Unlike a winning culture that creates a sense of responsibility and promotes sound decision making, the wrong culture leads to quick and illogical decisions by everyone, resulting in increased mistakes, escalated employee turnover, and drastically reduced employee morale.

Needless to say, a winning culture is preferred and when the inverse of these five traits are implemented and subsequently adopted by everyone within the organization, a winning culture is what you will develop.

Now, let’s get the conversation going with your comments. Please share with us your organization’s team culture and how it has affected you and your teams.

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