High-Performing Teams

I have had hundreds of 911 professionals from across the country as students in culture classes. When I ask them to describe the culture of their centers, the most common response is, “We have a toxic culture.” This response comes from emergency dispatchers, supervisors, and even members of higher leadership including directors.

Focusing on culture

I have heard culture blamed on every issue: budget challenges, hostile work environments, long-term short-staffing, lack of retention, excessive sick time usage, and even individual performance shortcomings. Many organizations have strategies and policies for combating these issues, but usually it is doubling down on the “same ol’, same ol” with less than maximum effort. To be honest, I think the primary strategy employed is hope.

The iconic management consultant Peter Drucker is credited with saying, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I would argue that rarely has anything truer been said. Consider Drucker as the bearer of bad news: If you are not focusing on culture, you might as well just stick with hope as a strategy and let us all know how that works for you. Policies are meaningless unless you have a culture where individuals believe that adherence to policies helps them do their jobs, allows them the opportunity to thrive, and supports the organization’s goals (assuming you have instilled a belief in the goals).

Culturally speaking

To speak about culture in a productive way, we have to agree on a few things. First, what is culture? In the simplest terms, culture is whatever is normal and acceptable for any group of people. It includes how the group accepts, celebrates, or rejects behaviors such as language used, music enjoyed, food eaten, ethical behaviors (such as leaving a little early while still on the clock—known to all), and who they identify as either heroes or villains.

If something is routinely done and accepted, it becomes the culture, regardless of the group’s publicly expressed shame or pride in it. Embarrassing things that happen consistently are routinely justified with, “That’s not how we really are here.” News flash, yes, that is how you are!

Second, it is important to talk about how cultures are created. It takes a combination of time, isolation (to varying degrees), and the development of shared values. As people are isolated together by default or intent, normal and acceptable behaviors are established. In 911, individuals come together for their shifts and have a degree of isolation within their centers, establishing normal and acceptable behaviors over time. Anytime a policy is known to be violated, and the violator is not held accountable, the culture creeps toward normalizing the violation of policy. The center culture exists as a subculture of the larger public safety culture.

The third and final point we need to agree on is how the influencers within an established culture behave. They engage in either positive or negative behavior and are influential regardless of the intentionality of their behavior.

Identifying your culture

Other phrases I have heard describing the culture within 911 centers include, “Mean girls club,” “eat our young,” “overworked and underpaid,” and “dysfunctional.” Don’t get me wrong, I also hear positive descriptors such as, “Gets the job done, when necessary,” and “Pulls together as a team for emergencies.” The challenge with these positive descriptors is they use up the goodwill and efforts of the team without refueling their tank.

I acknowledge that not all centers are the same, and the country itself is large and has many regional subcultures. Leaders, you may read this and feel yourself getting defensive; breathe, reflect, and just consider that your center’s performance and the well-being of your team members might benefit from a culture improvement, even if yours is not a toxic culture.

Culture is everyone’s job

I say this not to let leadership off the hook—the buck does stop with them—but ultimately, culture is everyone’s job. It is not the job you get paid to do, but it does impact you every day and every shift, and the culture of your workplace affects you even when you are not at work. So why would you let your role be played by someone else?

I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, but it is a high number, “If your boss was going to change the culture, they would have already done it!” It doesn’t matter why they have not changed the culture (lack of know-how, apathy, too busy doing other work, or maybe they are just a substandard leader); the point is that everyone has the ability to positively influence the culture of their workplace regardless of formal position or authority. If you can be seen and heard, or even if there is evidence of your existence, you have influence. The question is, “Do you want to use your influence in a positive way?”

Cultural influencers

Positive action yields positive influence. If you are perceived in a positive way, nurture that perception with additional positive behavior. Adhere to the policies in a way that is visible, so others might see your respect for policies. If you have a problem with a policy, do not undermine respect for that policy. Instead, bring your concerns to the attention of leadership regarding how that policy needs to be adjusted to support the goals of the organization, performance, or team member well-being. Be specific in how you bring it to their attention; “feeling” bad about a policy has never gotten a policy changed.

If you are perceived in a negative way, consider why that might be the case and never behave in a way that reinforces that perception. Be intentional about your actions. Make it a point to do something that supports positive culture every shift. If greeting each other sincerely has not been the normal behavior, start doing it consistently and don’t quit; it will eventually catch on. Don’t wait until someone asks for assistance. If you see they need something, give it. Don’t wait for or expect a “Thank you,” but graciously accept it if given.

Every person in every position has the authority to act in a positive way. It does not require permission or an increase in the budget. Do not excuse yourself from your influence; you have it so use it with intentionality— there are no innocent bystanders in a toxic culture.

All of us have influence; you can see it when any new member is infused into a team. Unfortunately, influence is not the exclusive virtue of those who are positive. Negative influencers exist: You know who they are. Leaders, it is important for you to know who they are because you must protect your new people from their influence. New team members, especially younger ones, are looking for identity. In other words, they are looking for a professional persona, for someone to become.

This is why it is crucial that you keep the negative influencers away from your new people. Some might say, “That’s impossible.” To them, I would say you believe that because you have never done it before. It has challenges, but I assert that whatever the challenges, the benefits will outweigh them over time. You get to pick your battle here—you can either fight the potential angst and distress caused by the negative influences or you can battle the negative influencer army from growing or expanding their influence within your organization. Either way, there is a battle that must be waged.

Opportunities for improvement

Leadership, I do not want to say you are “removed” or “out of touch,” and of course, nothing I say here applies to every center or every leader. But like I said before, breathe and reflect and consider opportunities for improvement. I want to share some perspective that can help you break out of the mold you might find yourself in.

An incentive like an ice cream social for a team that improved their QA score to a certain level over the course of a quarter doesn’t quite hit the mark. An attempt to incentivize positive performance habits is commendable, but we need to understand the team and what our actions say about the people we are trying to recognize. It is easy to inadvertently send conflicting signals.

Many centers today are putting a focus on employee wellness. So, what does it say to our employees, who may suffer from medical conditions, when we reward their efforts with an ice cream social? We must think about the entire person, and our actions need to be consistent with our words. Building a positive culture is not just doing what is convenient or easy. A leader’s good intentions are not enough. We should evaluate the benefits to the organization and its mission and then find a recognition of those efforts that is commensurate to the impact.

Another example of an effort by a director-level leader consisted of sharing a used box of donuts left over from a meeting they had attended earlier in the day. The takeaway: Bring in things specifically meant for your team rather than leftovers picked up from someone else’s efforts. Although done with the best of intentions, leftovers send the signal to your team that they are an afterthought. Be intentional and again consider the entire person rather than what is cheap or easy.

Servant leadership

Here is an example I witnessed from a leader I once worked for. I was assigned to Internal Affairs for a very large law enforcement agency. The division commander, Davis Nighswonger, was what I would call always present, available, and as hard a worker as he expected anyone else in his command to be. In a display of humility, but without intending for it to be a display, he brought a flattop grill in early one morning, and for several hours he cooked and served the members of his team freshly grilled pancakes. Mindful and encouraging of a healthy lifestyle, he also provided fresh fruit for those who preferred it over pancakes.

He neither needed nor expected any thanks whatsoever for doing this. This was just who he was—someone who created an environment of true servant leadership. He also learned more about his individual team members while chatting with them as he cooked their pancakes to order. You would be a fool to mistake his servant-leader style for weakness, as he tempered his kindness with appropriate levels of accountability.

Conclusion

One of the interesting things about cultures is they are never carved in stone, although engraving art and language in stone have certainly been a part of many cultures for centuries. The point of the metaphor is that cultures can be in a constant state of flux. Positive cultures can deteriorate into negative cultures by neglect, and negative cultures can grow into positive cultures by making intentional culturally intelligent efforts. Every one of you has influence. How you use that influence is your choice to make.