You Know Your Organization Is a Fear Factory When...
There are more meetings about innovation than actual innovation.
People rehearse what they're going to say in meetings like it's a TEDx talk.
The best idea in the room gets whispered in the hallway after the meeting ends.
"We want bold ideas" is on a mug given to people who leave for voicing bold ideas.
The most dangerous person in the building? The one who actually speaks the truth.
People look to see if the boss is laughing first before THEY laugh.
"We need volunteers" is met with everyone avoiding eye contact
Someone emails you to approve their email draft, version 5, where they edited out 'exclamation marks' before they send it.
Your team's "failure review" is a crime scene investigation with chalk outlines & donuts.
Innovation labs report to legal.
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If you nodded at more than three of these, you have a fear factory.
Fear factories produce compliance, turnover, and really good actors - not innovation or great communication.
What did I miss? Drop your "fear factory" signs below. 👇
#FutureOfWork #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #PsychologicalSafety #Innovation #OrganizationalCulture #FearlessLeadership #KeepingItHuman #BoldNetCultures #LeadershipDevelopment
Great article Kathy Klotz-Guest
Love it. I just had a realization - I would always laugh in meetings at what I thought was authentically amusing. Sometimes I'd glance over at my boss and see that same thing was actually pissing them off, then I'd actually laugh harder at the dissonance. No boss is perfect, but I had some good ones that let me be me ♥️
💯👍🏽
And when volunteer are asked for… if eyes 👀 look away and heads down, your people have already quiet quit.
Each of these I have seen up close and personal. The organizations that say they value bold ideas…. Real rime: watch how they treat those who do. How are disagreements handled? Show me that and I will show you who an organization is.