By Priscilla Nelson and Ed Cohen

Adapted and updated from an article that first appeared in Strategy & Business Magazine, September 2010.

While working as senior talent leaders for a global organization that went through a 2.5 billion dollar scandal (not counting peripheral damages) when the Chairman confessed to “cooking the books” causing the near bankruptcy and closure of the company, we had the opportunity to observe and be a part of culture’s true influence. During turbulent times, like those we are going through now with Covid-19, leadership is not determined by rank but by the strength of the talent and conviction to build the relationships necessary to bring about collaboration and seek solutions. In our situation, leaders came from all areas and from all levels. There was a sincere desire, but without knowledge, they required continuous guidance. This is a must-start, high-impact area for HR and talent professions. HR and talent professionals should continuously communicate with leaders, provide advice on how to lead during turbulence, and make available rapid skill enhancement. One such area where they can have tremendous impact is by educating (yes, we mean educating) leaders about how much they influence their organizational culture.

The “fallout” from organizations going through turbulent times like Covid-19, extends itself to the employees, their families, the public and many times the greater global community. Recall the ramifications of the volcanic eruptions over Iceland. It had a tremendous financial impact on the airline industry and those of us who fly hither and yon. It also resulted in many people being laid off. Peripherally, businesses (many of them small) all over the world dependent on the airline industry were also impacted. From taxi drivers, to hotels and the local flower shop down the street from where you live that could not import the special arrangements you wanted. The culture of an entire industry, those working for that industry and each of these examples were influenced.

Consider the Toyota crisis. Cultural differences between Japan and the United States brought about other challenges. In Japan, subtlety and withdrawal have very deliberate intentions, where in the United States they would be seen as arrogant or dismissive. Rooted in many aspects of Confucianism, Japan puts much more focus on the responsibility of the individual to others. Building and helping community is an expected responsibility and when an individual does not meet those expectation there is great shame. There is, therefore, a great pressure to unite around ideas, projects and causes than what we might see in the United States.

Roland Kelts addresses this in detail in an article in the Christian Science Monitor, February 2010. According to Kelts, “…we tend to prize opinionated, headstrong mavericks who are often lauded for their capacity to stand out from the crowd. In Japan however, it is the individual who can facilitate and sustain maximum harmony among group members – the Japanese concept of wa – who achieves praise for leadership in society…”

Never wanting injury or death from such an event, in many ways their culture of humility drove Toyota, a Japanese-based corporation, where Mr. Akio Toyoda took this as a very personal catastrophe and, again, according to Kelts…” a surer sign of a successful corporate leader in Japan is that he (they are almost all men) remains virtually invisible to the public eye, while his organization thrives, and face saving, allowing others to maintain their dignity even when they have erred, is tantamount to ensuring that all group members feel respected. Openly admitting a mistake, or forcing another to do so, invites embarrassment and disharmony. Far better to indirectly make or exchange concessions; indirection eludes confrontation, thus avoiding conflict.”

Do you see where we are going with this? When Toyoda testified on Capital Hill the entire exchange of plans for the event and his subsequent trip to Washington, D.C., were fraught with cultural mishaps and miscommunications. His apology was akin to the ultimate public humiliation. For the sake of Toyota and the global community he called upon all the strength he had available to do so. Toyota employees around the world saw him as a great leader and a hero. This selfless act helped to begin rebuilding the lost employee pride in the never-before tarnished reputation of Toyota. They felt more united and the organization began its recovery.

BP employees also experienced what it feels like to have shame introduced into their culture. It’s quite common for employees to take on the embarrassment caused by of the actions of others and good leaders must recognize the need to care for these wounded leaders and employees. If the organization has planned and prepared well, many programs and systems would be in place for such turbulent times. If not, the road back is tricky and filled with additional challenges because it requires shifting the organization’s culture to get it back on track. An event that rocks their world, such as the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, can be the catalyst that introduces many new and unwanted elements into the culture.

Turbulence of any kind can affect an organization’s culture. To prepare for these changes, the necessary steps to protect and adjust the organizational culture must be planned, and this planning needs to be done before, during, and following turbulent times. This is an area where talent professionals play a primary role. They have regular access to more people than those in any other part of the organization making them are uniquely prepared to play a powerful role in its revitalization. They can gather information, facilitate learning solutions, communicate changes, assist in determining necessary cultural changes, and provide coaching for leaders to introduce and reinforce desired outcomes. Moreover given their scope of responsibility, they are well positioned to observe the organizational culture as it grows over time. And thus they also tend to be well aware that people tend to be become comfortable with the current organizational culture, for them to consider cultural change, a significant event must usually occur. Any major event can be the catalyst for shifting the organizational culture. Even so, attempting to change this culture could well be the most difficult project anyone will ever take on.

Let’s take a look at BP. Their perceived lack of disclosure and transparency has now become part of their culture. In addition to impacting their brand, it influenced the decisions of employees around the world. The collateral damage is well known, the small fisherman who closed his family owned business after three generations and 30 years, the restaurant owners who were unable to provide fresh oysters for their guests and saw diminishing sales as customers went elsewhere, the families who survived one crisis after another in the Gulf, and the thousands of species at risk for extinction. Had BP come forth earlier with the facts about how many gallons of oil were actually leaking into the Gulf perhaps better or faster methods might have been available for containment. Until the leaders decided to be more transparent and forthcoming with information, they continued to have consequences that became a long term part of their culture.

Looking further at BP’s culture, how could they have overcome the shame that their employees are now carrying with them? The could have added it to the leadership development agenda, and taken measured steps to constantly reinforce the need to communicate with employees, to let them know everything about what is known and unknown. Beyond that, an organization like BP needs to invite their people to be a part of the solution (which is much more than capping the well in the gulf). With the right steps, BP could have reduced the fears of their people and engaged them in the process of revisiting their culture from the inside-out to reap the benefits of having more than 100,000 brand ambassadors. Instead, they suffered for years and have yet to come back to the strength and reputation they enjoyed prior to the spill.

Remember healing always starts from within. These lessons don’t have to be learned in crisis. Organizations can create and sustain a culture that welcomes the positive influences and eliminates the negative with talent professionals can be right there at the front lines, using leading through learning strategies to help their organizations.

Join our upcoming HRDQ-U two-part webinar series titled “Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times like Covid”.

Leveraging a Lights On Strategy on September 2, 2020 at 2pm ET/11am PT.

Renewing your Employee Value Proposition on September 23, 2020 at 2pm ET/11am PT.

by Dennis Reina, Ph.D. and Michelle Reina, Ph.D.

Does your workplace exhibit toxic behaviors such as: gossiping and backbiting, confidentiality breaking or getting even?  These common behaviors can turn a productive team into one where trust is eroded and negativity becomes the norm.

Trust is fragile and takes years to build, yet can be broken in minutes. Furthermore, the level of trust within a team gets worse with each betrayal and every negative encounter. While these breaches may not get addressed, they don’t go unnoticed, leaving the core foundation of the relationships crumbling.

Ultimately, it is up to leaders to realize that there is a problem and begin the work of trust building in their workplaces.

The good news is there are obvious symptoms of eroded trust. Identify these three early signs and you can take action to stop the damage—and even reverse it.

A. Backbiting and Gossip

Do members of your team feel free to share ideas, where they can communicate openly and honestly about issues and challenges? Trust building creates an environment where people want to work.

Yet every day, trust is tested in team relationships, especially in the form of gossip at work.

Gossip is the number-one trust breaking behavior within teams. Rather than going directly to the individuals with an issue or concern, people talk behind their backs to everyone else.

If the gossip is unchecked, it becomes more prevalent, happens more often, and as a result, becomes more disruptive. People hear about things a co-worker said behind their backs. In turn, they gossip as well. Negative feelings grow. Distrust flourishes. Once distrust takes hold, people no longer work well with each other—they are guarded regarding what they say, they don’t offer new ideas and they demonstrate other coping behaviors. Tensions rise, as do other trust breaking behaviors.

When you notice team members talking about one another behind each other’s back, this is an immediate sign that there has been damage to the foundational level of trust within your team. The leader must address this situation in order to begin to build trust within the team.

B. Confidentiality Breaking

Confidentiality breaking has to do with how team members communicate with one another—their trust of communication.

Occasionally, something may interfere with a person’s ability to meet deadlines, or how they are performing at work. If you are able to share your concerns with your leader or fellow team members, that is essential. Let them know what your outside pressures or circumstances are so they can keep projects on track.

Yet, people are reluctant to discuss personal matters in an environment where confidences are broken and gossip is rampant.

Unfortunately, this is also true of professional confidentiality. When such things as intellectual property, company secrets or ideas for market growth and development are shared publicly, people become suspicious about whether their information is safe.

Trust building means that people feel confident their personal and professional information is safe and sound. Information that team members have been trusted to keep private—whether it is personal or professional—violates trust; and misunderstandings will arise.

Leaders need to step in when confidentiality is being broken and immediately address these breaches because they threaten to weaken the core foundation of their teams based on trust.

C. Getting Even

The above negative behaviors often lead to defensiveness and a “get even” attitude among team members. For instance: “They said something about me, so I am going to share personal information about them.” Or: “She didn’t get me the information I needed in time, so I’m not going to worry about this deadline I committed to meeting for her.”

This kind of behavior will continue to escalate if not addressed: further destroying the effectiveness of the team, eroding trust, creating deep feelings of betrayal and causing stress and anxiety in the lives of all.

Often, this type of trust breaking behavior is easy to spot because it to will get shared through the grapevine. People will begin to gossip about perceived wrongs, or use one person’s past behavior as an excuse for their current bad behavior.

When a leader hears or sees this “getting even” mindset, it is essential that they address it immediately to stop the erosion of trust within their team. Once this behavior is turned around, people feel less worried about making small mistakes and are able to begin building trust in the workplace.

Trust Building^® in the Workplace

The first step in changing trust breaking behavior is to realize how your behavior has contributed to the presence or absence of trust in your team dynamics. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “be the change you want to see,” address the issue by discussing how things should be handled within your team and follow through. When you recognize one of these behaviors, address it with the offending team member. Make sure your staff knows that these behaviors are not tolerated and provide them with alternative, healthy ways to communicate that strengthen trust.

By addressing common trust breaking behaviors and creating a culture that encourages trust building in the workplace, you will change your team into one that can transcend any challenge.

For more information on this crucial topic, join us on September 16 for an enlightening and engaging webinar, Trust Building® as Tonic for Toxic Workplaces and Bad Bosses.

Remember, Trust begins with you!

By Pricilla Nelson and Ed Cohen, Excerpt from Riding The Tiger: Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times From Chapter 3, The Role of Leadership

Optimize Costs, with Retention in Mind

The most common mistake leaders make during any kind of turbulence is implementing cost optimization, which often includes layoffs, without considering the retention of staff. Cost optimization should be discussed and implemented concurrently with a retention plan. If you must optimize costs, then simultaneously work to retain your best people. Your organization will emerge stronger. During and after turbulent times, retention should be one of the highest priorities. You should make cost optimization decisions, keeping in mind their impact on retention. This information allows you to assess risk and make more informed decisions.

Be a Brand Ambassador

The temptation during crisis is to tell everyone everything—the good, the bad, the ugly. Though transparency and adherence to core values is necessary, especially when leading through turbulence, the organization and its people need leaders who are brand ambassadors. As brand ambassadors, you are responsible for representing the organization both internally and externally in a positive manner. This does not mean stretching the truth. It simply means that you should refrain from making negative statements that might cause further turbulence. It also means seeking advice from your marketing and communications group on when and how to interface with the media and providing consistent messages to everyone.

Assess and Rebuild Trust

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after truth.” There are many advantages to being a part of an environment that is built on truth. People are more open, and there is greater productivity, less internal competitiveness, stronger relationships, and overall a more positive atmosphere. All stakeholders—from employees to customers, investors, and society—know when they are working with an organization built on trust. That said, damage control and rebuilding a seriously injured organization require difficult decisions that not everyone will understand. For this reason, you and the other leaders in your organization must continuously assess and rebuild trust. Seneca, the Roman philosopher and writer (4 bce–65 ce), taught that “no one can be happy who has been thrust outside the pale of truth. And there are two ways that one can be removed from this realm: by lying, or by being lied to.” Can trust be rebuilt? It depends. People trust the trusted. In her article “Trust Fall,” Pat Galagan (2009, 26–28) notes that “there are some who believe that organizations must do more than apologize and be truthful about past sins. The leadership experts James O’Toole and Warren Bennis caution that trust requires more than honest behavior from leaders. Rather, it takes cultures that reward honesty and punish dishonesty.” Galagan continues with a quotation from O’Toole and Bennis: “A new metric of corporate leadership will be the extent to which executives create organizations that are economically, ethically, and socially sustainable.”

Remember, Leaders Are Human, Too

Crisis and turbulence bring out both the best and worst in each of us. When your organization is facing difficult times, you go through a lot. You may feel hurt, damaged, worried—and that’s just the tip of the emotional iceberg. Sometimes you won’t be at your best, although it is important for you, as the leader, to hold it together as much as possible.

Think Like a Child

The guideline to think like a child may seem out of place—how could that help, particularly during turbulent times? But when you think about it, children do not carry the same burdens as adults; they live in the moment and, especially when very young, are constantly playing (figure 3-1). They may sense your sadness or turmoil. They may even ask you about it. Children allow you to take the opportunity to see the big picture; they provide a goal for you to get through things. They simplify everything, and this allows you to stop overanalyzing and complicating matters. Soon they will be running around, playing their games. Join them, the time will pass, and you will have a much-needed break. Try it. Live “in the moment” as children tend to do, and surrender to your playful inner child for a short period. This will remind you of the significance of taking time to tune out and not allow business to consume every moment. Work/life balance can still exist, even in a crisis.

Take Care of Your Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual Well-Being

Your health—your emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being—is important all the time, and it is critical during turbulent times. Don’t put any aspect of your well-being on hold. You will feel like ignoring your needs— but don’t! Calm your mind at night. Get a good night’s sleep. If you need to talk with someone, seek a counselor, a coach, or your best friend. Start or continue an exercise routine. Be more mindful of your diet. And look for the comfort that comes from following your own spiritual path. This is not an easy task for most leaders, who become so consumed by their professional responsibilities that they sacrifice everything else. Change and uncertainty at work are draining, but you cannot allow them to take over your life.

Join our upcoming HRDQ-U two-part webinar series titled “Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times like Covid”.

Part 1: Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times like Covid: Leveraging a Lights On Strategy on September 2, 2020 at 2pm ET/11am PT.

Part 2: Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times like Covid: Renewing your Employee Value Proposition on September 23, 2020 at 2pm ET/11am PT.

By Pricilla Nelson and Ed Cohen, Excerpt from Riding The Tiger: Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times From Chapter 3, The Role of Leadership

Don’t let the news of today undo the successes of yesterday or tomorrow. —Howard Richmond, MD

During turbulent times, everything speeds up. The pressures of shifting emotions, processes, and demands increase as more and more is expected from everyone. You are simultaneously juggling the daily needs of the business, caring for the wounded, and helping pick up the pieces. Because these difficult periods are stressful, leaders must rapidly and proactively convert emotions into actions. Leaders must concurrently take care of themselves and everyone else. This takes time, patience, empathy, a willingness to shift priorities, and communication—constant communication, even “overcommunication.” The leaders who lead “out loud”— those who maintain transparency, approachability, and integrity—are the ones with whom people want to work, in good times and bad. And these are the leaders whom others seek to become.

The 12 Leadership Guidelines

The approach that works best in this situation is leading through learning—which primarily entails developing leadership guidelines. It is simple and powerful. Leverage learning to assist leaders with the complicated people and relationship dimensions of the business. Develop a set of leadership guidelines. Communicate and teach them to all leaders. Use these guidelines as the basis for coaching conversations.

Here are 12 guidelines we used as part of our leading through learning strategy. Use these guidelines as a basis for your strategy, or adapt them to your unique situation:

Understand That We Will Never Get Back to Normal

Organizations are constantly in the process of evolving to something new. An organization in crisis creates revolutionary change, resulting in radical shifts occurring much faster than most people are comfortable handling. It’s natural to want a return to the status quo. But no matter how devastating the situation, there is opportunity in a crisis. At the heart of a crisis is learning. There were things that were once considered “normal” that helped pitch your organization into turbulence. This is your opportunity to see those things for the mistakes they were and begin to build better practices.

The only constant about “normal” is that it is always changing. So instead of hoping for and trying to get back to normal, you need to move on, seek better ways to do things, and let these new ways become the new normal.

Take Care of One Another

Leaders must demonstrate emotional intelligence—transparency, empathy, patience, forgiveness, and inclusivity. They are obliged to look for ways to take care of one another. As a leader, first and foremost, explore your own feelings. Find someone with whom you can speak, someone who has an objective view and who provides you with empathic listening. At work, don’t be reticent to express your feelings, and allow others to express their feelings without judgment. Words like “hurt,” “worried,” “cheated,” “shock,” and “disbelief ” will be spoken, along with phrases like “How did this happen?” and “Am I going to lose my job?” Let them flow. There is no need to always have an answer or even a reply. This is the time to be a great listener and to exhibit empathy. Use paraphrasing to let others know you have heard them. People need to verbalize their thoughts and feelings to work through them. They want to be heard and need to feel heard. The simple act of listening rapidly reduces anxiety.

React . . . Pause . . . Respond

For safety and expediency, leaders are counted on to react. Adrenaline pushes energies to parts of the body most required to handle the turbulence. Your mind might be more alert, thinking at a rapid speed, eyes dilated so you can see better, and hearing sharpened—and all this may bring on the “normal” reaction: fight or flight. When you react in that moment, a normal response, it may or may not be right. Pause. Reflect. Then collect as much information as possible, and consider the benefits and consequences of each possible course of action before deciding on the next thing to do. The enterprise’s response is critical for leaders to consider. As a leader, you face your own turmoil while the collective enterprise also faces its own. Thus the leader must balance his or her concerns with those of the organization by recognizing this duality and separating personal responses from business responses. For example, as a leader, you must take decisive action to help the company recover and care for others (see chapter 7). Yet as an individual, you must decide how you will respond by taking into consideration all the factors at that time, including your career desires, personal needs, and family situation. No matter how you respond, it will be right for you as long as it comes from information gathering, integrity, an open heart, and seeking to understand.

Talk—Even When You Don’t Believe There Is Much to Say

I don’t know what to say. Everyone is getting information daily from the company. They can see it on the news. The statements above are just some of the excuses leaders provide when asked why they are not communicating with their teams. There is no such thing as overcommunicating, especially during times of rapid change. No one has a valid excuse for not communicating. Provide regular updates as often as necessary. When Raju’s confession set off a crisis of massive proportions, updates were held every hour. Then we shifted to updates every few hours and then to updates daily and weekly. Never cancel an update. This scares people. Even when there isn’t much to report, people appreciate being told what is known again and again. They also appreciate the opportunity to ask you questions. They feel more connected to you and the organization with regular access. What may in normal times be seen as overcommunication is good communication during turbulent times. You are communicating enough when people repeat your words to each other and to you. Consistent and continuous messaging prevents the rumor mill from gearing up and demonstrates leader’ approachability, transparency, and heartfelt concern.

Be Visible—Now Is Not the Time to Play Hide-and-Seek

I have my own stress to deal with. I have incredibly tight deadlines. I have no time to hangout and talk to people. The statements above are just a few of the excuses you will hear. It’s true that leaders are tremendously busy working to stabilize the company, have additional requirements placed on their shoulders, and are anxious themselves, but the need of the hour is still the team’s. When the leader goes into hiding, people become fearful. They question what is happening, and without the leader’s presence, they might even make up the story for him or her. This is how dangerous rumors and urban legends are born. Now is not the time to hide away at home or in your office. Closed doors make people nervous. Open the door, get up from your desk, walk around, and talk with people; let them know you care. During the Satyam scandal, a colleague sent this quotation (we tried to find out who wrote it and couldn’t): “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Listen, empathize, share advice, provide words of comfort; just be there. You may be injured; we all are. You may have a lot of work to get done; we all do. Be present, inform, comfort, and provide strength for others.

Maintain Integrity and High Moral Values

During turbulent times, leaders will have to take measures that they might not feel good about. There may be a pending layoff or a potential sale of the company, or quite possibly something even worse set to happen. Current circumstances should not influence, broaden, or distort your definition of integrity and other core values.

Continued: 6 More Leadership Guidelines for Turbulent Times

Join our upcoming HRDQ-U two-part webinar series titled “Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times like Covid”.

Part 1: Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times like Covid: Leveraging a Lights On Strategy on September 2, 2020 at 2pm ET/11am PT.

Part 2: Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times like Covid: Renewing your Employee Value Proposition on September 23, 2020 at 2pm ET/11am PT.