It’s something I hear more and more from leaders – a level of frustration about the number of complaints coming from their staff and their staff’s high expectations that any issues they raise will be immediately addressed and the problems they point out quickly solved. On the surface, it seems reasonable. Employees see problems and they bring it to their leaders’ attention. Yet, when not managed, this can often create an “us vs. them” dynamic that can simmer below the surface and harm workplace culture.
Patterns can take hold where leaders either over-accommodate to keep the peace and be responsive or they shut down the conversation, expressing frustration and blaming the team members who speak up. Both of these responses set the organization on the wrong path. On the one hand, when leaders over-accommodate, employees may see that demands get rewards and adopt a more adversarial approach to change. On the other hand, shutting down employee voices may send a message that it is not safe to raise issues because you will be labeled or punished.
Either way, it works against the healthy workplace culture that people desire and that drives the best results – because workplace culture is not one person’s responsibility, it is co-owned by everyone – leaders and employees. Broadly speaking, leadership is accountable for systems, policies, and clarity; employees are accountable for their contribution and performance. Everyone is accountable for achieving goals, working together, and getting results.
When employee complaints or desires for change surface, here are some tips to handle them most effectively:
- Listen for thoughtful input – If an employee shares something that is happening and can articulate the impact and offer suggestions to address it, that is likely something worth paying attention and listening to. Even if the issue is one you don’t want to hear or don’t consider high on your list of priorities, it is one that is having an impact on your team. Hear them out and co-create a plan of action.
- Push back on demands that come with no accountability – If it feels like a problem is being dumped on your lap to fix – “We don’t like this. Do something about it.” – it’s an opportunity to ask questions, encourage problem solving, and move away from learned helplessness.
- Keep the door open – Hearing what employees are experiencing is essential to effective leadership, continuous improvement, and a thriving workplace. Invite feedback and ideas, but structure it in ways that are actionable such as adopting a problem-impact-proposal framework or time-boxing feedback given in meetings (ex. 5 minutes on the issue; 10 minutes on solutions). If you punish or dismiss employee voices, ideas will be withheld, important concerns will be unheard, and side-channel complaining and rumors will flourish.
- Manage expectations – Be explicit about what co-ownership of the culture looks like. Share that you and your leadership team will listen and improve what you can AND that you need employees to be active contributors to the culture they want. If you know the request is not possible, the issue is not addressable, or there are specific barriers to change, be clear about that too. Don’t ask for further input or set up a committee to look at the problem to make it look like you’re doing something. That will only fracture trust, create disillusionment, and breed resentment.
- Respond constructively – When a concern is raised, consider using this framework for the conversation:
- Validate the issue (without validating the stance) – “I hear your concern about X, and I agree the impact matters.”
- Clarify the scope – “Here’s what we can change now. Here’s what we can’t (and why).”
- Invite ownership – “If we improve this, how might that help you work differently?”, “What commitment are you willing to make to see this come to fruition?”, “Would you be willing to facilitate a brainstorming session / help test a solution / draft a proposal / pilot a new norm?”
- Establish boundaries – When you see a problematic pattern, address it. Patterns include chronic complaining with no proposed solutions, “us vs. them” narratives, refusing to follow norms while demanding others do, open cynicism and sarcasm, and “always/never” framing.
To be clear, this is not about employees being the problem. Many organizations have real work to do to ensure that:
- expectations and roles are clear
- expected behaviors and norms are explicit and upheld consistently
- the why behind decisions is explained
- active channels for hearing employees exist and lead to outcomes
- leaders are modeling the behaviors they say they want
Without these workplace practices, leadership integrity will be out of alignment and co-ownership of the culture will be undermined. Bottom line – if you want a better culture and productive employee engagement to improve it, practice it with open dialogue and meaningful action.
If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
To build better workplace culture practices, contact Robyn at rmcleod@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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