US-based employers: over the next few weeks, you're either working around the clock with your managers to protect the healthy norms you've worked hard to create—or watching in dismay as your workplace falls apart.
You might have your norms written down on a wall somewhere, and think that's enough to weather this storm. Not even close. You can say the words "collaboration," "respect," "inclusion," and "kindness" all you want, but it's what happens in every team when those norms are violated that defines what kind of organization you are.
⚠️ When team members refuse to communicate with their colleagues who voted for a different candidate, are your managers prepared?
⚠️ When people denigrate or insult their colleagues in Slack or Teams messages or in the chatbox on a video call, are your managers prepared?
⚠️ When a "high performing employee" decides to express prejudiced, exclusionary, and discriminatory ideas about protected groups, are your managers prepared?
In workplaces around the country and around the world, these kinds of incidents are far from novel. But when flashpoints happen, like a major election, the fragile balance of a workplace culture is easily upended. Each and every violation that occurs is a test of the norms that workplace leaders purport to have, and when employers fail that test, the consequences can be disastrous—disrupting everyday work, destroying trust in leadership, poisoning team morale and culture, and more.
Managers make or break that possibility.
🌱 Your managers must be prepared to mediate conflict.
⛔ Your managers must be prepared to articulate what behavior is tolerated and what isn't.
⚖️ Your managers must be prepared to hold others and themselves accountable for when harm occurs and norms are violated.
⛈️ Your managers must be prepared to support and manage negative emotions, anger, frustration, and grief among their teams.
🚀 Your managers must be prepared to lead by example, even through their own strong opinions or feelings.
📢 And every executive must be prepared to support their managers by establishing expectations from the top, communicating transparently about resources and support options, and coaching managers who need help reaching that standard.
If your workplace has taken this challenge seriously, it's already been preparing in this way for weeks and months. But even if you're only starting today, it's never too late to lead.
