Why is hypocrisy a killer of a company culture?
In previous podcasts, Brad Malone and Tim Albright have touched on the concept of hypocrisy, such as instances when the superstar salesperson is given preferential treatment. But we have never really delved into this idea, and explored the negative impact hypocrisy can have on a company.
“I really started to look at morale as a measure of cultural alignment,” says Malone. “So, if we say we’re going to do something and we do it, then typically morale goes up. And the inverse is also true. And that’s where that hypocrisy comes in, is that we espouse something, or preach something, or we say that it’s important, and then you watch people’s actions. So, the loss of integrity, and to me, integrity is where we walk the talk, we practice what we preach, then that starts showing up. That just becomes incredibly demoralizing to people. And you brought up an instance of sales where we might say sales has to follow a process, except for the two special ones.
“Or there’s nepotism. Everything is important except for that person who is the son of X, or the daughter of Y. And then, you’re saying to yourself, ‘Well, wait a minute. Why don’t they have to follow the rules?’ And then, you start to get cliques or a schism in the company, where some people are going to live up to the vision and mission, and others are going to say, “Well, if those people aren’t going to do it, why should I?’ And this leads to that downward morale spiral.
“If we say we’re going to do something and we do it, then typically morale goes up. And the inverse is also true.”
How do you measure morale?
“It’s all small stuff,” says Malone. “One of them is pride. When people walk in the door, are they looking like they’re going to break rocks in a prison camp? Or do you look like there’s a bounce in their step and there’s a light in their eye? Just what’s their posture like? What’s their tone of voice like? What’s their energy level like when they talk to one another? Again, are they there to make a difference? Or are they there to make it through the day? And that, to me, is morale.”
How do you determine if your culture is in alignment?
What are some of the first steps integrators can take, as business owners and leaders, to boost morale?
What does Brad mean when he says –
“Nothing is free. Things can have no price, but everything has a cost.”
Listen to the podcast for all this and much more!
Keep Listening: The AV Profession 12: Creating A Company Culture for Success
Keep Watching: A Strong Culture Is Something You Create Every Day
