No Secrets
IAs a leader and management consultant I have always advocated for a no secrets policy for all staff members, from the cleaner to the managing director.
A no secrets policy generates an atmosphere of transparency and trust. It creates a sense of ownership amongst the staff for their area of expertise and I believe a happy and fun workforce!
In order to create a no secrets culture, we need to recognise when an organisation has a culture of keeping secrets.
Here are a number of ways that we can determine whether a team or organisation is operating from a protective and secretive culture.
1. Distinct lack of communication: Critical decisions are made behind closed doors and little flow of communication going up the chain or between departments
2. Closed and undocumented meetings: Minutes are not shared, key people are left out of strategic meetings. Impromptu meetings are held without anyone else knowing
3. Cultural and Behavioural Signs: Employees are hesitant to speak up or report issues for fear of negative consequences. There is a blame culture, and no one is prepared to take responsibility or accept mistakes have happened.
4. Lack of Trust: Micromanagement is rife from senior managers and a culture of suspicion and corridor gossip happens
5. High Employee Turnover: Lose talented staff, lack of feedback mechanisms and low reward or promotions.
ALL of this is fixable by the way!
To build a cohesive team with a no secrets culture is a simple process.
At Cohesive Coaching we use a verified and researched model for transforming teams into successful and healthy companies called:
The Five Behaviours of a Cohesive Team
Simply put a cohesive team needs to master five behaviours, the process is not complicated, keeping it simple is critical.
The five behaviours are: Building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment, embracing accountability and focusing on results. Each behaviour builds on the other, we cannot tackle these behaviours in isolation to one another.
Combined with using the DiSC behavioural profiles we can build a powerful team, a no secrets culture and positive results for the organisations bottom line.
Once we focus on these aspects collectively we will see a natural change in the teams culture and improved results.
If you are intrigued or want to know more about how we work please do ot hesitate to contact us via our website:
“Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.”
— Mother Teresa