Look around. Has a 10,000-pound gorilla taken over your company? Before
you reply with a quick “no” and refocus on your to-do list, bear in mind
that this giant beast is known by a second name—culture. And understand
that taming him is imperative because his destructive behaviors can keep
your company’s tribe from doing what it was brought together to do. Here
are some tell-tale signs that he has adopted your organization as his
habitat:
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There are several positive change initiatives in the works, but the
old guard refuses to alter “the way we’ve always done things.” They
aren’t receptive to new hires and won’t take an active role in
training them. Rather than working to move the company forward, they
spend most of their day making excuses for why things should stay the
same.
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Your employees are constantly patting themselves and each other on the
backs. Unfortunately, they’re often celebrating empty wins like
getting a client’s order right on the second try or passing an angry
customer on to another department. These “celebrations” only serve as
a smokescreen to hide stagnation and lack of progress.
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Most people in your organization seem too comfortable. They gravitate
toward and “nest” in the familiar. At times, you wonder if innovation,
creativity, and motivation are foreign concepts to them.
“Unfortunately, the gorilla’s constant bellowing drowns out other
messages in the concrete jungle, which allows poisonous cultures to take
entire organizations hostage,” says Coach Micheal J. Burt, coauthor
along with Colby B. Jubenville of the new book Zebras & Cheetahs: Look
Different and Stay Agile to Survive the Business Jungle (Wiley, 2013,
ISBN: 978-1-1186318-0-5, $25.00, www.zebrasandcheetahs.com).
“The good news is, prepared and proactive leaders can provide clarity,
unite the tribe, and—yes—tame that unruly gorilla so that cooperation,
growth, and innovation are once again in the spotlight.”
According to Burt and Jubenville, leaders who can successfully go nose
to nose with culture gorillas are members of a newly evolving breed:
Zebra and Cheetah (or Z&C) Leaders.
“Zebra and Cheetah Leaders are so called because they exhibit qualities
of both breeds,” comments Jubenville. “Like zebras, they boast a
distinctive appearance that others can easily recognize. Like cheetahs,
they possess great speed and are particularly quick accelerators. And
like both, they have an ability to utilize their senses so well that
they excel in adapting to their environments. In other words, these are
leaders who are able to adapt to the fast-paced, always-changing, and
highly competitive business world, and who are capable of leading
diverse tribes within it.”
Zebra and Cheetah Leaders recognize that 10,000-pound gorillas are
sustained by individuals who, unlike themselves, have refused to adapt
to the ever-changing landscape of reality. Here, Burt and Jubenville
share four things Z&C Leaders must do in order to stop feeding the
gorilla…and create clarity amid the chaos of the concrete jungle:
Get real about the reality your tribe is facing. Chances are, the path
your tribe once took through the jungle was wide, well marked, and free
of most significant obstacles. You could count on easily visible
indicators, typical benchmarks, and annual performance ratings to keep
you going in the right direction. And if any doubt cropped up, your
organization’s fearless leader—the lion-like king of the jungle—would
dictate who should lead, who should follow, and what should be done. To
hear your change-averse gorilla tell it, that’s still an accurate
portrayal of reality. But don’t let him fool you. According to Burt and
Jubenville, “the good old days” are long gone.
“In today’s competitive, constantly changing global economy,
organizations whose cultures expect the journey through the concrete
jungle to be easy won’t last long,” Burt says. “These days, the path can
quickly change, or disappear altogether. You might encounter rockslides
or quicksand at any moment. And predators—otherwise known as
competitors—will be constantly nipping at your heels.
“That’s why Z&C Leaders are committed to drawing a clear picture of the
true, actual circumstances their organizations face, regardless of how
positive or negative they may be. Only then will you be able to cut
through the smokescreen your gorilla may be throwing up and unite your
tribe in pursuit of an overarching dominant aspiration.”
Make sure your tribe understands the complex order of the concrete
jungle. In nature, jungles are incredibly complex. They contain a
dizzying amount of animals and plants that are competing for resources
and survival. But despite (or in some cases, because of) the occasional
casualty, the ecosystem supports the many populations that call it
“home” and enables them to thrive.
Ideally, that’s the case within your organization, too. (Think about the
corporate buzzword “synergy,” which refers to diverse individuals
accomplishing more together than they could alone.) However, it doesn’t
matter how balanced and well calibrated your tribe is on paper if all of
its members don’t understand where, how, and why they fit.
“It’s a natural instinct for people to worry about their futures,”
comments Jubenville. “That’s why so often new ideas, policies, and
people spark pushback in the concrete jungle. Established tribe members
worry that they’re being edged out or that they’re entering the
endangered species list. And that type of uncertainty feeds the gorilla.
It’ll beat its chest, bellow, and attack what it mistakenly perceives to
be the competition, effectively halting growth and progress.
“Remember, as a Z&C Leader, it’s imperative for you to not only leverage
your tribe’s talents, but to make sure all of its members understand
where they fit within your organization’s ecosystem, both now and in the
future.”
Clearly define success. Once tribe members understand the order of the
jungle they inhabit, Zebra and Cheetah Leaders must outline what,
exactly, constitutes success. Left to their own devices, each individual
is likely to define that outcome differently, usually in whatever way
would benefit them most personally. In this scenario, you’re likely to
have some employees who mistakenly believe they’ve “made it,” while
others struggle, strive, and snipe their way in the wrong direction.
“We refer to the force of a tribe working toward success as collective
passion,” shares Burt. “Why? Well first, collective relates to the fact
that everyone in the tribe is working together toward a shared dominant
aspiration, or goal. The word passion has a double meaning. Its modern
context involves deep affinity for something, and its Latin root passio
means ‘to suffer.’
“Make no mistake: The struggle to survive and succeed in the global
economy won’t always be pleasant or easy. But if your tribe goes through
the metaphorical fire together, it will emerge as a stronger and more
efficient group. Stated plainly, collective passion helps create a
cooperative, unified environment within your organization—an environment
in which gorillas can’t survive.”
Create new levels of professionalism. Good news: This fourth step in
overcoming chaos and keeping your corner of the concrete jungle
gorilla-free is the easiest. You’ll find that when your tribe’s members
have collectively survived the crucible and reached the first level of
success you’ve set for them, their relationships with each other will
change.
“Specifically, competition within the tribe will naturally be replaced
by new levels of cooperation once everyone sees what they’re all capable
of accomplishing together,” promises Jubenville. “This will then allow
the competitive focus to fall where it belongs: outside the tribe.
“This is the position you want to be in as a Z&C Leader: basing your
decisions on factors within the concrete jungle instead of focusing on
factors related to the tribe. Just be sure to keep a close eye out for
any signs that the culture gorilla might be creeping up on you. If you
so much as smell him (for example, you notice tribe members excusing
their own inadequacies or trying to backstab those they see as more
productive workers), nip those behaviors in the bud.”
“There will always be chaos in the concrete jungle as a whole, but that
doesn’t have to be the case within your specific organization,”
concludes Burt. “When you succeed in kicking the gorilla out and getting
your tribe members to trust their Zebra and Cheetah Leader, your
organization will enjoy increased transparency, accountability, and
productivity.”
