Fear, fright, flight cultures

A team that was the most exciting cricket story in 2022 becomes a butt of jokes. A team that boasted of the most thrilling fast bowling trio becomes a mock memes darling. A team that was a sure shot last final round qualifier becomes a first round disqualifier. Yes, apologetically we may try to hide it by talking about the glorious uncertainties of cricket.

Yes, we may try to explain it be giving the example of 1992 World Cup oddities. But the truth is more deeper than that. The game of cricket is more of a game of the mind. The game of cricket is more of a game of discipline than sheer talent.

The game in this part of the world is a matter of the heart for the majority. This means that a brain that thinks holistically, a mind that creates new solutions and a body that can take the relentless pressure of non-stop cricket are all essentials of the modern day sport.

The word team “spirit” is that opaque description given to extraordinary performance. In cricket they call it the dressing room culture. The vibes coming out of the team as they interact with each other. Is it energetic, open, buzzing? Or is it dull, uneasy and dampened? What is the body language? Forthcoming or avoiding? What are the eyes telling? Gleaming or lost? These depict the state of the mind of players.

This exhibits their level of confidence or fear. The recent losses of the Pakistan cricket team in the T20 World Cup is a story of the fear factor destroying the talent and success of a team. Fear is a cancer of team spirit and thus performance.

This is true at all levels. Companies that are ignoring a culture because it is uncomplaining are underestimating the lull before the storm. Organizations that take silence for consent are just on the verge of an implosion. One of the biggest factors that propels growth is the comfort of its team members to voice their opinions and mind without feeling afraid. This is known as psychological safety. The typical signs of a culture of fear are:

1. A group, not a team— A culture where people do not speak openly or are afraid that their words will not be taken positively is a culture that kills team spirit. Everyone is just watching their own back. The work is going on in routines but there is hardly any positive communication and commraderie.

People come and wait for the clock to strike 5pm. They dread team meetings and treat them as just another box to tick. Whether it is the cricket team or a company departmental team, this disconnect makes them look like a disintegrated, disinterested lot, whose focus is not on winning but on how not to lose their own positions. This mindset creates individualism, silos and victimism. This results in a blame game that constantly points fingers at each other creating a fear, fright, flight environment.

2. Crisis is the norm— When people are afraid to express their thoughts and emotions, they become inwardly resentful. This resentment results in a retaliatory mindset. They feel uncared for and as a result stop caring about the organization.

Information is ignored, withheld many times. Many sudden plant breakdowns are a result of the team not coordinating, not sharing the signals that had been visible beforehand. This culture typically is seen in public sector or Seth-driven Pakistani companies.

In public sector the apathy emerges due to politicization and manipulation of the organization and in the Seth culture due to centralized family control. In both cases long-term growth is the casualty. Public sector organizations like PIA and Pakistan Steel are prime example of these cancerous cultures. In the Seth organizations growth never follows the multinational scale and the organization shrinks in the second or third generation business cycle.

3. Disengagement and low productivity— The fact that employees feel stressed due to pent up emotions severely affects their productivity. Some may leave, some may stay. Those who cannot leave physically leave mentally and emotionally.

We all know that anybody who is there but not giving in their best is a huge opportunity loss for the company. Some people who are in such cultures describe their state as “suffocating”, a state where you are so emotionally and mentally choked up that you can hardly attend to the office affairs. Imagine the loss in creativity and productivity.

Can psychological safety be recreated where people feel valued and free to voice uncomfortable opinions? Yes it can be. The first important step is to acknowledge, study and develop a strategic intent to do something about it. That requires courage. That requires bold leadership. That requires a top driven initiative that puts it at the same priority as revenue targets. Thus the steps to do so are:

1. Develop Measurable goals for creating psychological safety— To be serious about psychological safety an audit is required at least twice a year to measure the cultural psychological pulse. The audit should be done anonymously and should bring out department-wise scores. These scores should also be compared to the performance of the departments and regular one on ones should be held with the heads to create accountability for adherence.

2. Sensitize and train people on the dos and don’ts— Many people are not even aware of what all is included in psychological safety. Training programmes to educate them and make them realize the care needed to adopt the relevant behaviours are mandatory.

3. Reward and celebrate courage— Courage champions need to be celebrated to inspire people to become guardians of psychological safety. The more such people are recognized the higher the chance of others following them.

4. Zero tolerance for violators— Similarly, zero tolerance for violators should be exhibited regardless of the rank. This will help build the confidence of the people to speak up and voice their ideas and opinions.

No better example of psychological unsafety playing havoc with performance than the cricket team. Nothing and nobody is safe in the team. The coach is venting publicly. Previously, messages between the captain and the ex-Chairman leaked out to create a fear of hell. An analyst speaking on PTV on the bad team performance was fired. Team was told during the tournament that there is going to be a surgery on them. Result was an inevitable annihilation in the initial round. To be heard, to voice, to contribute, to share are basic human needs. Cut them off and you cut off the spirit. What remains are soulless bodies that are lifeless and vibeless.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024