Great Circle

It can be thoroughly frustrating to work amidst unhealthy and unethical practises.

Defining yourself may be a goal that takes a lot of hard work, but you will retain your integrity AND you just might become the influence that prevents others from blindly following an organisation’s unhealthy practises and values.  

From the time we commence kindergarten, we are conditioned to find the quickest and easiest way to fit in with a new environment. Eventually we may turn from conforming to school rules only to find ourselves bowing to peer pressure.

We carry this learned behaviour into adult life. Sometimes - in stark contrast to our deepest desire to make a difference, to make our mark, to create something new and better - we simply comply and fit in.

Into the workplace we step, entering a culture established before we arrived, pressured subtly (occasionally blatantly) to conform with “the way we do things here”. When that “way” is healthy, compassionate, innovative or ethical, then aligning ourselves with it can actually become a helpful experience for shaping who we are.

But when that environment is toxic or dysfunctional in some way, to go with the flow opens us up to becoming infected with its flaws. This will probably lead to us

• undermining our own integrity, enthusiasm, ideals and values
• giving tacit agreement: endorsing the rot - sometimes even abuses - within the system
• selling parts of our soul to keep our pay packet
• perpetraing the poison of others: actually spreading it further.

It can be thoroughly frustrating to work amidst unhealthy and unethical practises, while feeling powerless to initiate change.

Ultimately, if you are finding yourself in such an environment, then the issue is not as much about the organisation as it is about you. What’s needed is not that you establish a Rebel Alliance in your organisation -we don’t want it closing down or you losing your job!

What’s needed is that you define yourself clearly, first to yourself and then to others. (We face the very same challenge in our families and our circle of friends).

I’ve worked in (and on) many organisations and have always been fascinated by their “cultures” - particularly the behaviour of the human beings within them. One company I worked with had an annual staff turnover rate which exceeded 90%! In other words, if there were ten people in the office in March 2000, by March 2001 nine of the faces would be different.

I remember well meeting “Bekky” - new to the company, full of enthusiasm, cheery, open-hearted, empathetic and motivated. After a few weeks, I complimented her on the way she treated people, remarking that she seemed more interested in providing a service to clients than keeping the bureaucracy happy with her. Her reply went something like this:

“When I got into this job, I already had friends in the industry who told me the kinds of things that could burn me out really quickly. They told me how jaded and negative I would become. I decided that I wasn’t going to be like that. I know what I want to achieve through this; I know who I am - and all I need to do is keep that in focus. I am not going to change.”

Months later, when others who had sat at her desk before her would have been looking in the Job Ads, she remained the same caring chirpy person - and she was maintaining her KPIs!

Defining yourself is a goal that may take a lot of hard work and time to achieve, but I hope you’re seeing why it’s so worthwhile. Here are some starting thoughts to consider.

1. Be clear about your values and the outcomes you are aiming at achieving - your perspective, your integrity, your intentions, your ethics are valid! (You just need to be clear on what they are)

2. Try to uncover the underlying principles or negative values in the organisation’s behaviour and culture that make you uncomfortable - what’s going on under the surface? One of the things this helps you do is to refrain from labelling colleagues as the Enemy - it’s often about culture not individuals.

3. Be proactive about living your own heartfelt values even in a situation set against them - this is (in essence) leadership!

4. If called on to explain yourself, first see it as opportunity to have an influence. Second, don’t blow it by making it a “me versus you” moment; instead look for a way to show how your thought or attitude or action can actually benefit the organisation and bring about their stated goals in some new way. Thirdly, if asked to do something you don’t feel is right, rather than say “That’s just wrong!”, start your response with “I’m not comfortable with that.” And fourth, state your position logically and briefly, without making accusations against others.

5. Encourage others to explore your point of view (”Do you see any gaps in my reasoning?”); steer clear of having to win the point, just discuss it and enjoy the interaction. Just as you are resisting conforming to the opinions or expectations of others in this situation, those other people will generally resist any attempts to change their mind or go against the established order. It captures people’s attention more when you don’t try to get them to back down - while demonstrating that you are committed to thinking more deeply about your own point of view.

6. If you are being called on to engage in actions that you feel are seriously unethical or unworkable, then it may be you have an equally serious decision to make about whether to seek a company that’s a better fit for you. An epilogue to the story of Bekky above is that she lasted 18 months but eventually made a proactive choice to move to another service provider within that industry. The best thing about that was that she remained her “old” self, not burnt out, not jaded, still clear on why she did what she did and committed to enjoy her work.

While it doesn’t always work out this way, you just might become the influence that prevents others from blindly following the organisation’s unhealthy practises and values. At the very least, you’ll stay on the pathway of your own sense of purpose … and you will remain the YOU you choose to be!