Are you working in a crack-the-whip culture?
Slow Leadership has an interesting post today about what it calls “Ya-Ya Management,” a term for crack-the-whip business cultures run on fear. I’m sure most have us have experienced this at some point in our careers, although I think they were more common a generation ago than they are today.
Karen Senteio makes the very good point that whip-cracking is often a sign of desperation, brought on by a lack of “challenge, excitement or innovation” where “the fear of not getting it done is worse than producing the wrong thing.”
Are you in an environment like this? If so, why do you stay? Is it because your own fears about being unemployed are scarier than the fear instilled at work? If so, the only way to solve that problem is to look for the job you want while you’re still employed in the one you don’t.
And don’t say you don’t have time to do this; we created RiseSmart to make the time for you. And if you don’t want RiseSmart’s help, you still need to find a way. It’s just not worth it to stay in a job you don’t like.
Bob Sutton has a great new book out called The No Asshole Rule. Sutton defines “assholes,” in this context, as
those who deliberately make co-workers feel bad about themselves and who focus their aggression on the less powerful—poison the work environment, decrease productivity, induce qualified employees to quit and therefore are detrimental to businesses, regardless of their individual effectiveness.
“Ya-Ya Management” environments invariably become beset with this problem. It’s another reason to find the exit door — before it’s too late.
What do I mean by “too late”? I mean that ultimately your work environment can change who you are. If you’re worried that your Ya-Ya culture has done just that, take Bob’s 24-question online quiz, “Are You a Certified Asshole?,” to find out.
