Does the White House need a feedback culture?
In an open work environment with a boss that is open-minded and listens when people voice their opinions there are no surprises. Everyone knows where everyone else stands on the issues and if they don’t they feel comfortable asking and listening without judgment.
Why is it such a surprise that John Bolton is surprising the White House administration by coming forward? Because the environment described above does not exist in our current Trump Administration. When people fear being fired or retaliated against for voicing their opinions you may never know how they really feel, and will never be able to convince them there is another way of thinking. That is detrimental to any work environment where productivity and morale are cherished.
How is your work environment? Are people scared to voice their opinions? Does your leader make demands without getting input from staff members so they feel like a part of the decision making process. Is your workforce engaged in their work and at the top of their performance most of the time?
Consider the power of hiring for values that match your organization. Interview questions should be designed to uncover things like work ethic, honesty and personal values that match your defined organizational values. If you have not defined your organization’s values that might be a good place to start so you can define culture fit.
Once you define your culture you must continue to reiterate it and strive to include people in the decision making process. When employees feel like they are a part of the process of what direction the organization is taking, based on the defined values, they will take ownership of getting the organization to your defined goals through their work.
The feedback culture facilitates this effort to develop organizations into high performing, highly successful teams to compete in the global market.