We know that ‘bad’ culture and behaviour in an organisation has many negative sides. But here’s one you may not have considered.   McKinsey’s article “Bad to great: The path to scaling up excellence” shares some fascinating research undertaken which has found that before senior executives can roll out best practices, it’s vital that negative and destructive behaviour is substantially reduced.  Why? Because destructive behaviour (fear, laziness, dishonesty, selfishness, nastiness, etc) has FIVE times more impact on employee’s moods than positive interactions.

The article goes on to highlight 7 areas of focus to help leaders wanting to break this destructive cycle.  They’re all great points but the last of these is my favourite.  It cites the ‘peak-end rule‘ made famous by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman.  It says that irrespective of how good or bad an experience is, we make judgements most strongly about it by considering the best and worst moments and by how it ended.  This is a fantastic learning and teaching tool for us all to incorporate in aspects of our lives.

How will you recognise when destructive behaviour exists?

• Fear of Responsibility
• Feelings of Injustice
• Feelings of Helplessness
• Feeling Anonymous.

As I cast my mind back to various companies that I’ve worked in, I absolutely recognise many of these behaviours and feelings.  How well would your company score?