By Carol Flagg
In our most recent workshops and training seminars we’ve been incorporating a video clip of a little girl who falters singing the national anthem at a NBA playoff game. As she’s standing there unsure of what to do, Maurice Cheeks, one of the team coaches, comes over and begins to sing with her. We use the video as a metaphor for how people may be feeling in the workplace – scared, uncertain of what to do, under pressure to perform, not wanting to make mistakes, etc. It’s also a metaphor for the possibilities that occur when a supportive presence is at hand. In today’s economic climate where everyone has to do a lot more with a lot less, creating a more supportive work environment has never been more important to prop up morale and keep work teams going forward. I’ve provided a link to this video in the resource box at the end of this article.

3 ways to create a more supportive work environment Creating a more supportive work environment means leader-managers model the following: 1) Show respect for each person’s strengths throughout the organization. 2) Acknowledge the contributions people make. 3) Be more ego-less so you’re free to step back and ask if there is a better way something can be done.

Respect. A respectful work environment is one where people truly know where they fit in and how they individually support the organization, no matter what their position. Each person in the organization needs to be seen as a link in a circular chain. If a link breaks, the chain falls apart. Creating a more respectful work environment begins by leader-managers putting the focus on each person’s strengths vs. their liabilities and progress achieved vs. mistakes made. Mutual respect among individuals, teams and departments starts with an awareness and an understanding on everyone’s part of what people bring to the table and their unique value to the organization.

Acknowledgement. Acknowledging a person is recognition of their role or contribution and thanking the person for the impact. “The work you put into this project this week was tremendous. Thanks for helping make it a success.” Building an acknowledgement-culture means spending a few seconds every day acknowledging people. It’s something that takes very little effort yet has huge impact. That being said, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone so the key is to think of acknowledging as a skill that, with practice, becomes ingrained, much like muscle memory for athletes. Practice builds the acknowledgement muscle. Just make sure you never follow an acknowledgement with the word “but” or “however” – it negates the acknowledgement you just gave. Let the acknowledgement stand on its own and find opportunities to give acknowledgements every day.

Being ego-less. Any supportive work environment requires that leader-managers work on putting ego aside. If a leader or manager is uncomfortable asking the question “is there a better way to get this done?” or “how would you approach this?” then their ego is getting in the way of creating an environment where individuals feel comfortable sharing new ideas or questioning existing paradigms and protocols. The ego could be tied to either the leader-manager’s need to be right or a fear of being perceived as a leader-manager without all the answers. In either case, both create an environment where people do what they’re told without questioning the outcomes or willing to bring new ideas to the table. An ego-less culture means letting go of the idea that as leader-managers we have to have all the answers and relies instead on the creative thought process and input from others around us.

If you watch the video then no doubt you’ll notice that Coach Cheeks (our leader-manager in our metaphor) drew both players and audience into the fold. The picture is now complete – a supportive work environment needs to encompass everyone in the organization.
YouTube video of Maurce Cheeks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em9wR9e5emY
Carol Flagg