Teams Gain Steam

摘要

Early in my career, I had a boss—well, actually, the three-steps-up boss—who would stand at the employee entrance every morning, tapping her watch disappointedly as we scurried in the door a couple minutes past 8 a.m. That behavior gives you an indication of what the company's culture was like: strict, authoritarian, inflexible. And when employees are exposed to such behavior, it becomes the model for everyone's behavior. Thus, the managers at every level espoused the same approach, and misery was doled out equally. All the free cookies in the world didn't prevent the prevailing workplace toxicity. Thankfully, as years have passed, organizations have increasingly moved away from that management style, understanding that it's counterproductive to rule with an iron fist, and instead recognizing that collaborative, empowered, diverse teams work best to accomplish the work that must get done.