Top 7 Negative Company Cultures Killing Talent and the Potential of Kenyan Firms

“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate or display.”

A company’s culture is as crucial as the finances and manpower driven into an organization. The morale of employees is dependent on the level of respect shown, shared and the sense of belonging they are made to feel.

1. Threats and Insolence

Getting 100 percent of any individual can only be gained through respect, real teamwork, and sincerity, not threats, inequality and insults.

No amount of free food or sweet talking can change that and according to Peter Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

A company that fosters insolence and threats destroy teamwork yet it is a key pillar to the success of any company.

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2. Gossip and Backstabbing

Gossip and backstabbing among seniors only create dishonesty and lack of morale among juniors. Lack of conflict resolutions channels and unfair treatment where a section of employees seem to enjoy certain favors from those in authority breeds bitterness and that becomes your company’s culture.

A company that nurtures respect and actual teamwork creates morale that no money can buy, it creates a feeling of belonging that makes employees proud to be associated with the company.

Leaders who foster gossip, insolence, manipulation, and micromanagement not only stall the milestones such companies’ can achieve but also kill talent amongst employees. On countless occasions it has been said employees don’t leave bad jobs or bad salaries, they walk out on bad managers.

3. Intimate Relationships at the Workplace

The situation could be worse if intimate relations are on within the organization as it’s likely to affect work or bring about unfair treatment hence the reason why most companies refuse to condone any intimate relations.

Most people are not able to separate work and private life; they drag their emotions from home to work and cannot solve an issue soberly, gossip employees and come up to conclusions on how business should be run in the company regardless of the opinion of other employees.

Their intimate partners at the workplace are also not able to separate issues and feel like it is in their place to influence every decision made irrespective of how it affects the company.

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4. Respect and Conflict Resolution

A company’s success is not only weighed at how much it’s bank account holds but at the difference it is able to make in its employees ‘lives and the society at large.

For an employee to walk home looking forward to being at work the following morning, it does not only take a fat salary and goodies, but it also takes respect, both in character and tone, and a sober mind that is willing to resolve conflict in a civilized manner.

5. Micromanagement

It makes no sense to peruse through people’s curriculum vitae’s as you seek an ideal employee who is smart enough for the job only to micromanage them just to ensure they don’t surpass you. A bad manager can easily make you lose sight of your career path, kill your passion and have you leave the company worse than you actually got there.

Most employees hang on to their jobs waiting for orders from the managers counting days to receiving their pay slip not fully aware of the restrictions they have on themselves, not giving your very best limits you from exploring your potential.

To build any team, respect must be earned to create trust; there is really no scale to measure who is smarter so it is never a competition of who is smarter than who. One does not need to be the smartest to successfully manage a team, one only needs to give people a chance to grow and thrive, accept positive criticism and separate emotions from work.

6. Moon Lighting

A permanent job should NOT limit you from achieving your full potential as an individual and exploring your talents through side hustles.

Side hustles are healthy for every being as they give one the opportunity to have a different perspective once in a while and maximize their productivity.

Side hustles, however, should never interfere with the ‘parent job’, as it is like destroying the roots of a tree which is bound to wither the whole tree. Moonlighting unlike a side hustle steals a parent company’s time and resources, either human or physical.

Moonlighting is done by greedy, selfish people who disregard the fate of the parent company and its employees and choose to focus on what they only can make for themselves without having in mind the fate of the company’s employees.

It is crucial to ensure discipline when dealing with a side hustle to avoid killing companies that feed other employees and understand that each employee is a pillar in one way or another so using up their work time on your side hustles is selfish.

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7. Weak Leadership

Leaders who cannot address an issue directly and prefer to meander and become insolent in a vague manner are weak leaders who in knowing their weakness will never resolve an issue and will instead choose to sweep it under the carpet.

A leader should lead by example and should inspire good working habits in his team by his own actions. Professionalism should be spelled out in a great leader’s actions, not words.

“A great leader is a great listener. A great manager is a great mentor who empowers employees to think they can win!”