All Hallows’ Eve was originally dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. Now it’s a marketing strategy to get dressed up, decorate your house, buy junk food and ask strangers for lollies…
It’s not something I celebrate however, 6 years ago on 1 November my husband and I had our wedding reception at Luna Park. They were hosting Halloscream, which made for some amazing photos! Seems like a great segue to share a new service 😉🌟
What’s hiding in the shadows?
Every workplace has shadows, unspoken rules, things that are too hard to deal with so are often swept under the rug. Monsters can hide and grow in these shadows.
Are you aware of your workplace monsters? What tools have you used to turn on the light and reduce the fear?
What are your workplace monsters?
Monsters drain the energy from your business. They cast a dark shadow on the culture and can create more monsters if they’re not dealt with properly. They can be managers, workers, teams and customers. And if you’re not prepared for them, they can give you a fright, make you flee or fight back depending on our body’s response in the face of danger.
Here’s some of the usual suspects:
- The Hulk – bullies who smash the workplace culture and can destroy people’s health and wellbeing
- Creepy crawlies – you squirm when you see them. They are the sexual harassment perpetrators
- Ghosts – they hide from any responsibility and will throw others under the bus to deflect from the work they haven’t done
- Werewolves – they change from a seemingly nice person to a growling monster. Everything that goes wrong is always someone else’s fault. If someone leaves the organisation, or even just the room, they blame them for the current problem
- Zombies – they are the walking dead. They moan, complain and highlight all the problems, with no solutions. They are unproductive and disengaged
- Witches – not the good kind. They gossip, put others down, exclude people from teamwork and withhold information. They are more comfortable in a group of other witches
- The Terminator – they have a single target or issue. They discriminate others based on their age, gender, race, sexual preference
- The Grim lifeguards – they see people drowning in work and watch on, sometimes adding more to their pile. They see others laying on the beach, getting a great tan and enjoying their free time and give them a wave
- Pinocchio – lies, all the time. They probably lied in the interview for the job, and they often turn into another monster to deflect from being caught out
- The Vampire BFF – they are often managers who have favourite team members. Their favourites can do no wrong, they get all the good work and they are the first to get any promotional opportunity.
Are you feeding your monsters?
I can hear you – who would be crazy enough to feed these monsters?!?! People don’t do it on purpose, they often don’t know how to deal with the issue so they ignore it in the hope it will go away. Even if the issue or monster is a person and they leave the organisation, the shadows still don’t go away.
If the root cause, or the reason for the darkness isn’t addressed, the culture will remain the same. In an organisation, everyone is watching. People see that issues are swept under the rug. The shadow is still there and the opportunity for another monster to grow is significant.
What food do they like?
- Silence – when you see the Terminator, Werewolves or Creepy Crawlies in action and you do nothing (as a bystander or a manager)
- Acceptance – saying things like ‘that’s just the Hulk’ allows the behaviour to continue
- Rose coloured glasses – believing that none of this could possibly be happening in your workplace
- Excuses – often disguised as ‘reasons’ why the monsters are there in the first place, thinking that if the ‘reason’ didn’t happen then there wouldn’t be so many shadows
Have you got the courage?
Remember being young and afraid of the dark? In the shadows you were sure you saw a monster… But once you turned the light on, it disappeared. The monster was only a sock, a toy, a shadow.
That’s what I do. I work with courageous companies who want to make positive, long lasting change. I work with companies that understand they have some dark corners and aren’t afraid to bring light in. I provide tools to help name it, claim it and reframe it, and I never shame it.
- Name it – I conduct NEON audits to help find the monster in the shadows
- Claim it – I develop manager training and coaching to shine a light on the darkness
- Reframe it – I undertake training and workshops for all staff to embed positive change and keep the workplace bright
Take the first courageous step – name it with a NEON audit
Making real change and facing your workplace monsters takes courage. We need to get to the root cause of the problem, and really identify and know what it is. If we don’t understand the shadows or the reason why the monsters survive, we may be bringing light to the wrong issue.
I bring light to the darkness and partner with you to develop strategies and deal with them. I do not judge, shame or point fingers. I shine a light on the issue to lessen the burden and reduce the fear. I provide tools that ensure long term, positive change.
Look at this face – it’s not scary, so when I ask the scary questions, I promise it won’t hurt as much 🌟
