Workplace Discomfort
Learn how to proactively address workplace discomfort and strengthen company culture through self-reflection and one-on-one conversations for enhanced productivity and creativity.
Would I absolutely prefer that things resolve on their own, magically and mysteriously. YES! But, boy, have I learned the hard way that productivity and morale can take a nosedive just because I couldn’t or wouldn’t have a direct conversation.
Today, I value my time. I can no longer afford to waste it being uncomfortable. If I am uncomfortable, I need to examine why and then take action.
Where I am going next can absolutely be applied in all of the areas of your life, but I am keeping the focus on your company. Because let’s face it, if there is discord at work, it’s hard to escape. It eats away at creativity, productivity and unified execution.
Everything does truly start with the health of your company culture. If you feel you have a healthy company culture, you already know workplace discomfort is still a challenge, you simply have a framework in place to investigate further the source of the unease or discord.
However, there are plenty of companies that either haven’t been able to invest the time in developing company culture or did so a while back, but some refinement is necessary. The challenge you may find yourself in is that people-related disruptions may be happening frequently, you are spending too much time band-aiding and assuaging, but really nothing is changing.
I have an idea. If you don’t want to wait before the company culture has been built or re-examined (it's something we have a tendency to put off….so…I get it…), then try this with someone one-on-one.
If something feels off with someone on your team, your co-founder, an investor, etc, practice a one-on-one conversation with them.
My preference is that we don’t do this in a group setting (yet), but rather 1:1.
First, reflect internally and evaluate if everything is good with you. Maybe take a night or two to get clear. We forget that we have so many external and internal inputs that tell us a story that may or may not be true.
If you are convicted (and calm) that something truly feels off and unresolved, just ask the question.
“Hey so and so, I wanted to check in with you. I noticed that when we started talking about X, there was a shift. I can’t put my finger on what it is but something seems to have changed. Can we dig into this together?”
Now, this is my language because I like to be casual, disarm, create some empathy, collaboration and awareness. You may have a different spin, but you get the gist.Let the conversation happen organically. It does not need to be scripted, because then you are already anticipating how it should go. Just a few sentence opener is all you need and just let it unfold.
Do this as often as you can but again after you have some internal reflection. There is a fine balance between a knee jerk reaction and giving the pause some space before taking action.
Good luck! If you are finding this works, amazing! You are on your way to working real-time through discomfort and re-shaping how you handle things head on.
If you want to learn more, stay on the lookout for more related topics or feel free to reach out to me directly for more dedicated time and focus.
Christina | christina@itsthepod.com