How to not scr*w your culture (and still have high standards)
By Madeleine Geach, of The Good Life leadership coaching and courses for the hospitality industry.
This is for you if you own a business, lead a business, or manage a team. Here’s the conundrum: you’ve worked hard to create a place people can be happy and enjoy their work. The brilliant training, the flexible rotas, the summer supplier trips, the supportive managers, the delicious staff meals. The annual party. The day-after-your-birthday-day-off. The thanking people and meaning it. You want things to feel warm, friendly, positive. And this is just as it should be.
But something about this positive culture is making it hard to mention what is also on your mind. Things are not where you want them to be. Standards have slipped. Every day you notice things that don’t feel quite good enough. But you are not saying anything.
What’s getting in the way? And what can you do about it?
What’s getting in the way?
The main block could well be this – being human. When it comes to picking up on issues it’s very common to feel…
- Fear of breaking the relationship: you worry that if you say something “negative” you may hurt feelings and demotivate people. Or possibly they may no longer like you and question if they want to work for you.
- Fear of breaking the culture – you worry that difficult conversations will create negative vibes which kill the positive culture you worked so hard to build.
Talking to managers and owners, I am hearing a similar theme over and over:
“I’m short staffed. I am scared to lose people by being seen as “too demanding. The demographic of people coming into hospitality jobs has changed – often they are new to hospitality and not (yet) super dedicated to or inspired by the industry. I worry that if I say anything less than positive, I will lose them”
What can you do about it?
1. Mindset
Reframe your inner chat about having high standards. High standards are MOTIVATING. People are enthused by excellence, not mediocrity. Think about some of the people you’ve worked with over the years and who’s inspired you. High standards are right at the centre of having a positive culture. Not at odds with it.
2. Define your 3 non-negotiables
What can you let go of and what can you not? Choose your arenas carefully. If you demand perfection in every aspect of performance, you’ll come across as a dictatorial nit-picker. Choose two or three things you want to be known for e.g. outstanding product quality, or exceptional customer service. Focus on these.
3. Walk your talk
Whatever the standard is, consistently uphold it. Your values, attitudes and behaviours set the tone for what you expect from others. So, start by being a role model for your standards. People will respect you if you hold yourself to account first. They will also learn what quality looks like. Show can be more powerful than tell.
4. Balance
Like all things in life it’s about balance. People are more open to constructive feedback if they get plenty of positivity around it. Praise, compliment, point out strengths, celebrate successes, recognise, reward, appreciate. You get the gist. Just make sure it’s honest and sincere. This creates psychological safety by building confidence and trust. Aim for a 5:1 ratio of positive to constructive conversations and you will find people are more open to taking on feedback.
5. Build a feedback culture.
Have a daily feedback habit. Aim to give 3 pieces of quality feedback everyday at work. Be tough on standards not on people – focus on the performance you want to see not the person. Quality feedback is factual not emotional, future focussed (how to improve, not what you’ve done wrong) and specific so people know exactly what their strengths are and how they can get better.
Feedback checklist:
- Specific not general – give practical suggestions for how to improve
- Succinct not rambling – fewer words helps get the message through
- Factual not emotional – it’s not a way to offload frustration
- Future focussed – say what you’d like to see going forward
- About the standards you want to see – not a criticism of the person
About Madeleine
Madeleine Geach previously led on Culture at Hawksmoor. She now runs The Good Life – leadership coaching and courses for the hospitality industry. She was named one of the most influential women in hospitality this year by Code. Follow her @thegoodlifecoaching.