In toxic and dysfunctional environments, people will seek their own safety and best interests, no matter how great the vision of the organization.
There is a door that stands at the front of every organization and institution that leads to two very different worlds.
One leads to a world that is alive with energy and ideas and an inherent absence of fear. It is buzzing with chatter, an incessant collaborative spirit of creating and sharing cascades across the environment. And there is this feeling of joy. Of happiness. A spirit of giving and support. And it fills this world.
And unfortunately, that very same door can lead to a second and much darker world…
A world that is much quieter, and careful. A world where people are mindful to not make mistakes. To keep a low profile, to fly under the radar. To not make waves. You world where you can feel the tension in the air, and it is thick. The feeling of fear permeates the entire environment. A world mired in silos, jealousy, personal agendas, hidden agendas, and self-interest.
The interesting thing to consider in regards to these very different worlds, they can both be accessed through the very same door.
Yet, we have a choice. We can decide on which world we want to walk into, what world we want to work and live in. We determine that doorway. The pathway is held within our grasp.
For the doorway that determines which world we will walk into each and every day…leadership.
Our leaders determine the tenor of our organizations, plain and simple.
And it begins with the doormat that each leader sets out in front, a doormat that determines which world we will enter. Bright and transparent, or cold and closed. All determined by whether the greeting boldly written and awaiting you upon that doormat exists…TRUST.
Trust determines which door we walk through and what world we walk into…
What we often fail to understand is that trust is the determiner to what kind of environment and culture that will exist within our organizations. And for that, we have a choice, on which world we will create. Which world we will make.
Ultimately, leaders create the environment. They determine the world their people will walk into.
And it all begins with trust…
“People will respond to the environment in which they operate. The leaders decide what kind of environment they want to build.” -Simon Sinek ‘Leaders Eat Last’
DCulberhouse 