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Originally Published in: Raise Your Game
Another important part of culture is a sense of openness. If no one shares what they think, the culture becomes one of fear, suspicion, and failure. Problems fester in an environment where everyone is afraid to tell the boss what's going on. "If you expect a culture of trust," my friend Jay Bilas wrote, "you have to build and foster a culture of truth." Though cultures will vary from business to business, honesty and trust are bedrock concepts for all organizations. It's the leader's job to create an environment where everyone feels safe enough to speak up. I once heard this Wall Street story about a lower-tier employee at an investment, let's call him Marc, who had misplaced $30 million. That's right, he misplaced it. He didn't lose the money; in the way of financial companies, it just couldn't be located right away. And it took a few days to find it. Marc apparently worked for a real yeller, a boss who loved to make examples out of employees in a public and embarrassing way. Since Marc was terrified, he began a series of cover-ups and evasions to buy time until the money was found. After a couple of days, the money was located and everything was fine. Then, the big boss, an executive, called Marc and Marc's immediate boss into the office. Marc was caught, and he had to fess up. As Marc told his story, the executive listened and recognized that the real issue was not the mistake, but the cover-up Marc felt compelled to engage in. Then the executive made a decision: he fired Marc's boss. The executive determined that the problem was not the isolated mistake Marc made, but the culture the boss had been responsible for creating.
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Open Culture
