People are complex. A group of people even more so.
And oftentimes these complexities lead to the metaphorical “elephant in the room”–a problem (or problems!) we see but don’t want to acknowledge. We get it. While it’s no surprise that an organization filled with people creates challenges, it’s also no surprise that people choose to ignore them.
You’re not alone. And while we can create a list of challenges a mile long, there are 23 that we have found to be the most common in our years of work and research. Do you recognize any of them?
Top Culture Challenges (or what we call the Top 23 Elephants)
Which 3 are taking up the most space in your organization?
- I have team members who ask for a raise and haven't done anything to deserve it.
- We work hard to please our people, but it seems they're never satisfied.
- My staff thinks I'm lining my basement with gold bricks.
- Honestly, I don't think my team members care about the company.
- When problems arise, no one steps up to take responsibility.
- My team members only do what's in their “job description” and nothing else.
- Several of our incentive programs have backfired.
- We have someone who's a rainmaker/superstar and they're totally toxic.
- We have in-fighting between groups. There's always something.
- We're a family-dysfunctions included.
- Our team hates change-even if it's what's best for everyone.
- I'm amazed at the rumors that show up in our organization.
- I've recently lost one of my best people, and we shouldn't have.
- I have to micromanage or nothing will get done the way it's supposed to.
- We're awful at getting reviews done on time or at all-everyone hates doing reviews.
- We've promoted fabulous producers into mediocre managers.
- I just don't have the time to give people kudos and pats on the back.
- I don't know how to acknowledge great work without a promotion or a raise.
- I'm the last to know when there's a problem.
- We're divided into “old” school and “new” school, and they never mesh.
- We used to have an incredible culture, and we've lost the magic.
- It's so hard to find good talent anymore (and yet our competition does).
- We're growing so fast-it's hard to integrate all the new team members.
Do you see a pattern in your top 3 challenges?
There might be one. We organized this list in the following manner:
- Numbers 1-7? You’re up against entitlement and apathy
- Numbers 8-13? You’re dealing with drama
- Numbers 14-23? You have leadership conundrums
Which elephants do you see on a regular basis? What’s your plan for bringing these challenges out into the light and solving them?
