By Burnett Munthali
Poor leadership results in a negative impact on the culture within an organisation in a number of ways including Malawi as a nation:
Lack of Vision:
Most companies have a vision statement. Why don’t leaders? A lack of imagination can hinder the ability to lead and prevent a company from seizing opportunities to thrive. Many leaders get into the habit of being an ‘idea person,’ only to be stymied in realizing they don’t have the solution to every problem.
“If there is no vision, people cannot survive.” This is applicable both in business as well as in life. Leaders who lack vision cannot succeed in life and they work in a standard and monotonous manner. Vision is not a fantasy for leaders; rather it is a truth that has yet to come into practice.
A leadership vision is important for two reasons: It provides inspiration and motivation to keep going. People are likely to work harder when they have targets to meet. Leadership vision sets goals for the team to accomplish within a given period.
Vision affects leadership. A clear and well-communicated vision is essential for a leader to gain support and for followers to understand a leader’s goals. A vision is defined as a clear, distinctive, and specific view of the future, and is usually connected with strategic organizational advances.
There are consequences for not having a vision. Individuals with vision impairment are also more likely to experience restrictions in their independence, mobility, and educational achievement, as well as an increased risk of falls, fractures, injuries, poor mental health, cognitive deficits, and social isolation.
Lack of Synergy:
Lack of Team Synergy is caused by human discrepancy such as difference in individual priorities, talents, interests, ego, habits, poor management/coordination/strategy, ineffective communication, poor leadership and followership, individuals not playing as team players, or people simply not putting their own interests.
Negative synergies also exist. If there is a negative synergy, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. In other words, people can actually accomplish more by working alone rather than working together.
Synergy is important in leadership. Under strong leadership, a team with synergy can develop into one that can execute flawlessly and drive results. On the other hand, a lack of synergy can show that the most talented individual will not deliver results due to a culture of discord, turnover, poor results and increasing disharmony.
The previously stated term; Synergy Leadership is a process where the interaction of two or more agents or forces combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.
Negative synergy is derived when the value of the combined entities is less than the value of each entity if it operated alone. This could result if the merged firms experience problems caused by vastly different leadership styles and corporate cultures.
Creating a culture of mediocrity:
Mediocrity is maintained by a key social process: the marginalization of the adept, which is a response to the group problem of what to do with the highly able. The problem arises when a majority of a group is comprised of average members who must decide what to do with high performers in the group.
The Characteristics of a Mediocre Leader:
Blames others: Never personally acknowledges their role or contribution to any mistake or failure. Selfish and self-serving: Regularly acts out of self-interest and brings a sense of entitlement to the role.
Usually, in mediocrity culture, we find the Managers and Leaders are not hands-on. They do not know what it takes to do a given work and what obstacles are faced by the team to perform it. They are also disconnected from customers and users. People stay there for payday rather than to thrive and excel.
Dealing with a mediocre employee
What to do with mediocre employees
1) Mediocrity can be dangerous for business.
2) Will letting go of a mediocre employee cripple your company?
3) Taking action.
4) Avoid mediocrity: have clear measures.
5) Train and develop.
6) Evaluate performance more often.
7) Address performance issues head on.
8) Engage peer accountability.
Low Morale:
Low morale breeds a reduction in productivity and performance. When your staff has low morale they are less eager to give you their best, which leads to poor quality work or assignments that are not turned in on time. Additionally, low morale has a direct correlation with high absenteeism.
Causes of Low Employee Morale at the Office:
Lack of Communication & Clear Instruction.
Lack of Trust.
Dishonesty.
Micromanagement.
No Team Bonding.
Lack of Praise or Thanks.
Lack of Training.
Lack of Acceptance for Responsibility.
The following are signs of low morale:
High turnover. A high turnover rate, or employees leaving your organization, can signify low morale among employees.
Low or reduced productivity. Another tell-tale sign of low morale is dwindling productivity in the workplace.
Lack of attendance.
A negative attitude.
Below are some effects of low morale:
Low morale causes employees to lose interest in going the extra mile, especially when they do not feel valued by managers or care about the projects assigned. A costly indicator of low morale is high turnover; when employees leave because they are not happy with their jobs and have few external reasons to stay.
You can improve your low morale.
How to Reboot Your Morale:
1) Get to the Root of the Problem. If you’re struggling to stay positive, it’s time to ask yourself why.
2) Find Meaning and Purpose. Ask yourself, what does your job mean to you?
3) Don’t Get Stuck in a Rut.
4) Ask for Feedback.
5) Learn Something New.
6) Build Your Network.
7) Find Inspiration.
Higher staff turnover.
A high turnover rate means that many of your employees – more than what’s expected in your line of business – have quit the organization over a certain period of time.
Most voluntary turnover is caused by people seeking—in no particular order—more money, better benefits, an improved work/life balance, more opportunities to progress in their careers, time to address personal issues like health problems or relocations, increased flexibility, or to escape a toxic or ineffective manager
High employee turnover is also likely to affect your overall workplace engagement. When your employees lose a coworker, they may become discouraged and less engaged in their work. If not properly managed, this can have a negative impact on your organization’s workplace culture.
Failure to meet goals
So, in fact, it is the fear of unknown over there that scares you! For some people, the failure of falling short of a big target means embarrassment, frustration, loss of face, loss of respect, disappointment and reinforcement of an already low self-esteem.
Why people fail to meet their goals:
Fear of success and/or failure Some people are afraid they will fail or, even worse, that they may actually succeed. As such, they don’t even bother trying to attain a goal. Such people lack belief in themselves and in their potential. In their mind, if they fail, everyone will think negatively of them.
5 reasons people fail to achieve their goals:
Uninspiring Goals. When most people set goals, they envision a “thing,” such as a particular amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement (like writing a book).
Fear of Failure.
Fear of Success.
An Unrealistic Timetable.
Worrying About “Dry Spots”
Dealing With Not Reaching Your Goals.
So, here is how you come to terms with not achieving your goals right away.
1) Don’t lower your goals down to a more achievable level. We all want to feel like we have achieved something in life.
2) Fall in love with the process. Sure, it’s beneficial to have goals.
3) Speak to other people in your situation.
Reduction in customer satisfaction.
Improving customer satisfaction is vital in the current customer-centric landscape. Read on to discover our curated list of some tactics to improve customer satisfaction.
What decreases customer satisfaction?
Bad customer service. Lackluster customer service will lower a CSAT rating before you can say Hold, please.
Poor social skills. Like it or not, your customers turn to social media to learn about your business.
Automated support.
High prices.
No appreciation.
The three major factors that affect modern customer satisfaction can be categorized as customer perceived quality, value, and service. By harnessing these factors, you are able to provide positive, consistent customer experiences and create true customer loyalty.
Factors that Influence Customer Satisfaction
Accessibility.
Empathy.
Language.
Response Time.
Convenience.
Choices.
Simplicity.
Quality.
You can overcome low customer satisfaction.
For this reason, these 7 tips will help you improve customer satisfaction:
1) Offer multi-channel support.
2) Make collecting feedback a company process.
3) Measure customer satisfaction regularly.
4) Ask for feedback across all touch points.
5) Actively ask customers for feedback.
6) Share feedback across all your teams.
7) Reply to all feedback.
Reduction in productivity.
A decline in productivity stunts the GDP or the economic output in comparison to the number of people. Low productivity indicates that resources are not utilizing their skills and competencies to their maximum potential which increases company’s resourcing costs.
Factors That Affect Productivity
Work Environment. As you can imagine, no one enjoys working in a negative or toxic environment.
Training & Career Development Opportunities.
Processes.
Pay Structure.
Employee Wellness.
Diversity.
Technology And Production Factors.
Tools.
Lack of Employee Training: The most common cause for low productivity at work can be traced back to employees’ lack of proper training. When workers aren’t adequately trained, it will automatically hamper time management and resources.
There are factors that affect productivity. 5 factors with an impact on labour productivity
Energy and personal attitudes. The combination of energy and a person’s attitude will play a significant role in determining their productivity in any context, whether work-related or not.
Equipment and resources.
Objectives.
Leadership.
Environment.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor
