Apr 20, 2021 | Updated May 03, 2023 
By @JoshuaNgala

If your manager keeps wasting your precious time, assigning you to make endless presentations on irrelevant things, and even write reports about what they had not done, then you are part of a stale toxic culture.

Corporate culture determines how a company’s employees and management interact and handle business transactions.

The willingness of staff to observe the organization’s policies and procedures begins with good leadership, which puts the value zone at the center of the organization.

That’s why successful companies invest in their teams with cohesive values that lead to greater business efficiency-driven to achieve a common goal.

However, the business world is largely focused on the what of the strategy—new products, new propositions, new markets—and pays far less attention to how a business runs its teams and employees.

Much attention is put on customers and products at the expense of employees. Such internal disparities can hinder employee productivity and morale.

To transform a company, people must therefore align themselves and work together toward one goal.

Sharing the same vision, change initiative reduces the normal tensions between areas among others, sales and logistics, marketing and finance, and human resource and finance.

So, where does transformation begin from toxic to cohesive culture? Start looking in the mirror. Focus on things you don’t like about what you see.  Also, create a picture of what could be, if you were to change.

As a corporate manager, it is important to clearly understand this concept and how you can turn one of the most toxic cultural elements in your organization into a powerful source of growth and creativity. Below are the five tips to promote cohesive culture:

1. Incite everyone to think like the owner

The biggest problem with the old-age organization structure is it doesn’t support the people in the value zone-the place where value is truly created for customers.

This stifles employees not trusting managers, as they are not empowered to be decision-makers.

To cultivate a problem-solving culture, businesses invest in employees to think like entrepreneurs. When they do so, their energy and creativity are released.

Culture matters, employees matter, customers matter, and it starts at the top.

Imagine what your organization could collaboratively accomplish if every employee was self-motivated and focused all their energy on making your business successful, To achieve the transition at this level, shift focus to the value zone. If possible, turn the organization upside down.

Make management and managers, including those in enabling functions accountable to those who create value, not just the other way around.

This approach helps managers to delegate decisions and action plans, choose transparency on transactions and compensation decisions, be intentional with every conversation, and encourage employee feedback.

 2. Design the right collaborative incentive schemes

Dangle a carrot in front of a horse and he’ll pull the cart faster. If an institution wants to change and sustain employee behavior, it requires an incentive plan.

An incentive is most frequently built on monetary rewards. For that reason, a company should design the best incentive scheme that fits all employees.

Rewards can be financial, non-financial, prizes, experiential or focused on public recognition, or whatever best reflects your company culture and motivates teamwork. The recognitions, bonuses, and gifts result in increased productivity.

A joint research on incentive schemes by the International Society for Performance Improvement and The Incentive Research Foundation found that “Incentivized teams increased their performance by 45 percent; incentivized individuals increased performance an average of 27 percent.”

It means successful organizations are highly innovative, and innovation requires teamwork for the development of new ideas.  Such an approach makes organizations increasingly reside in the talent and creativity of their employees.

Although team incentives can lead to heightened performance, the HR department needs to make sure they’re properly implemented to avoid red flags such as talent management issues and competition among teams.

3. Keep politics on hold

Even though office politics are a fact of life everywhere, politics affect an organization when the founders, investors, and employees don’t agree on a company vision.

It divides colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates, which results in a tense and disruptive work environment. Power games of playing dirty at the expense of someone else is harmful.

For example, watching a colleague make a mistake on a project and then turning around to report them to your boss and offering to correct is toxic.

The success of your business, therefore, relies heavily on the efforts of your employees. Some employees may also feel they aren’t getting enough credit, compensation, or options for their great work especially when power games are involved.

As Alfred Rappaort said, managers, like other people, act in their self-interest.

It is possible to promote yourself and your cause without compromising your values or those of your organization. Keep and maintain employee satisfaction throughout the company.

4. Invite open conversations

Most employees would wish not to offend their bosses for fear of getting in trouble for speaking up. This culture lies in how leaders manage communication within their organizations.

There are several ways managers can use to initiate tough conversations with employees.

Break down the institutional silos and boost cross-functional collaborations. This makes leadership become a conversation that enhances collaborative information sharing.

Traditional corporate communication must also give way to a process that is more dynamic and more sophisticated. This approach makes these conversations less difficult so you and your team can come to effective solutions together.

To heal divides and fix systemic issues in organizations, leaders should focus on starting honest conversations. Such communication should be focused on individuals with feedback metrics.

5. Celebrate both autonomy and relationships

Team cohesion impacts nearly every facet of your business. But particularly, it’s crucial for efficiency.

For that reason, autonomy remains one of the essential elements in building true employee engagement. It helps companies support a growth mindset, professional development and give employees the tools they need.

Further, businesses have resorted to a high level of autonomy resulting in a work- culture where owners and managers trust their teams to do their best.

When your entire organization is working toward shared goals, it’s appropriate to enjoy the accomplishment as a team creating value for customers. Rejoicing success is essential for maintaining the bond of a cohesive team.

Also, encouraging relationships in a company creates trust. Trust has four dimensions in organizational growth: credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation.

Good leadership nurtures a cohesive culture that does not condemn errors or allows pointing fingers.

6.  Promote an agile way of working

Agile adaptation to significant changes in business environments can give the company an edge in bloody ocean markets.

Every company can benefit from building nimble teams that can respond rapidly and effectively to business opportunities

There are different ways to create an agile workforce in an environment that ensures tensions do not drive anguish, resentment, or division, but effective productive discussions, success, and continuous learning.

Bonus Tip: It is not only employees who must trigger the change, and not only them who are good at blaming external factors for their lack of performance. Some old-fashioned leaders support the status quo, avoiding any change by making all kinds of excuses for themselves.

Don’t focus on the past. Neither should you ride on your past achievements. Focus on your employees and how to create value.

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