The Pleasant Echo Chamber

The hidden cost of a conflict-free workplace

Dear Leader,

You were sitting in the conference room of one of your oldest clients, when you discovered why their business had dropped off so suddenly. Several of the client's employees were having trouble with their email. Techs would be dispatched only to have the problem return moments after they left. This went on for weeks and one day, a rep from a competitor stopped in to drop off a flyer. The owner mentioned the email problem and in 20 minutes, the rep had corrected it. In response, your company had been unceremoniously dropped from the vendor list.

The most disturbing part was that reports of their dissatisfaction had been submitted to several members of your staff. But to you, it was a fresh surprise. So much so that you initially thought it was a misunderstanding on their part. But the pauses and tentative, carefully worded vagaries from your head of sales revealed a truth that was hidden. Most of the staff were aware, not only of this but of a dozen more customers who were likely on the verge of leaving.

The start of these troubles correlates with a shift in leadership that you enacted. Your effort to make things better was backfiring and no one mentioned it. That made the revelation by your ex-customer feel like a brick in your chest as thoughts like "If this is true, then what else don't I know?" ran through your head.

In your effort to create a culture of positivity, you inadvertently produced an echo chamber where negativity and conflict were stamped out. A culture where real problems aren't mentioned and employees simply tell you what you want to hear. The pleasant and easy facade, hiding a painful truth of declining performance and an ignorance of the areas that need improvement. Low conflict means that your plans, strategies and choices are never pressure tested before they are cheerfully implemented.

The fact is that your people know where the problems are. Your challenge will be to encourage them to reveal the truths they have been holding back. But they won't do that if they don't trust you.

Let's get you prepared to have a revelatory meeting with your people. What I need you to do is to re-visit your vision. Make certain that it captures the point of the company and its mission. Then, at the top of your notepad, rewrite the vision.

Next, identify 3 decisions that you have made that could be creating the conditions for a drop off in service and loss of customers. Include your decision to rework leadership roles. Then call your team together and reveal what you learned in your meeting with your most recent ex-client. Contrast the reality to the vision of the company. Then offer how you suspect that you are to blame.

Discuss each of the identified decisions in turn, asking for insight into how they may have caused the problems you now see. There may be an unwillingness to reveal much initially, but you can encourage them. Use questions like "How did this decision cause these problems?" or "How could I have made this decision work out better?"

I once found myself in a similar situation where my people were holding back. At some point I offered a reason for my failure that was clearly not the case; it was over the top. This allowed my people to step in and say "No, that's not quite right." That was the beginning of a more honest view of our situation. You may need to employ something similar.

Confessing your own role in creating this situation will permit staff to admit and correct their mistakes as well. It will also open the door for critical discussions regarding company direction, purpose and especially results. Respectful disagreement and transparency will surface problems early and possibly avoid them altogether. This type of growth in knowledge and trust will translate directly to growing the company.

Park Wiker

P.S. Enemies will reveal truths that your friends never will. - Unknown