We’ve all found ourselves in the middle of an office battle that could go one of two ways: either the situation blows up and puts both people on the defensive for the foreseeable future, or someone calms the situation down by adding an outside perspective that allows them to move on. [related]
Depending on your company culture, you probably know which way it’s going to go.
If you work for a leader who shouts commands and demands from their cushy corner office, you probably know that leader isn’t likely to do much to calm a simmering situation before it boils over and is more likely to just tell you to figure it out and get the work done as soon as possible.
Maybe that’s why almost half of the people who answered a poll by business strategist, HR exec and author Linda Sharkey during her presentation at AVIXA’s AV Executive Conference (AVEC 2019) last week in New Orleans showed some level of disconnect between what the bosses say and what really happens.
“Leaders of the past told you what to do,” Sharkey said at AVEC. “Leaders of the future ask questions.”
If that’s true, the AV industry might have a long way to go before it can say it has a firm grip on the concept of tomorrow’s leadership style—at least based on the poll results of AVEC 2019 attendees during Sharkey’s session.
Examining Your Company Culture
More than one-third of the respondents called their company culture “guarded,” with Sharkey’s poll noting those who are guarded avoid certain sensitive topics and try to work around them rather than looking to resolve them.
Another 15 percent of Sharkey’s survey respondents say they tolerate toxic behaviors and attitudes that undermine success” at their companies. That certainly sounds like an environment that would make a newcomer uncomfortable to bring up anything that goes against what the leadership dictates.
That leaves slightly more than half of the respondents who said they walk the talk and can see a “clear line between what we’re trying to achieve and how we do it.” Obviously, it’s good that this attitude was the winner, but it didn’t exactly dominate the poll.
There’s no way of knowing whether the small sample size of conference attendees in any way mimics the overall attitude in the AV industry when it comes to company culture, so maybe you’ll have to look more closely at how you do business—and be honest with yourself—to know which one best fits you.
As much and as well as those in pro AV embrace a new technology or are willing to espouse its merits to their customers, there’s sometimes a bit of lag time when it comes to changing their behaviors and thinking in new ways. Here’s hoping that won’t be the same when it comes to leadership and culture.
