What's the Real Message?

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By Andrew Coutermarsh
Reprinted with permission from the May 2002 Issue of Identity Marketing

I am continually amazed at the seemingly total lack of awareness on the part of business owners and managers when it comes to matching words with actions. It seems that over and over again, little thought is given to whether the message sent by our actions matches the deliberate message we are sending with our words.

The most egregious case of late would be the Enron debacle in which executives "in the know" dumped their stock at the same time that they were easing the minds of the employees about the fiscal health of the organization. Had employees been privy to the executive behavior, the incongruence would have been so powerful that employees could not have trusted the words of the chairman or anyone else. If any one of those executives is ever again believed by anyone, I would be completely surprised.

Yet similar situations, albeit on a much smaller scale, occur every business day, from the smallest to the largest of organizations. They occur because of closed systems where information is controlled and the average employee is underestimated in his or her intelligence or emotional ability to "handle" information. They occur when organizational leaders proclaim how important trust and respect are to organizational well being and then lack the respect for, or trust in their employees. They occur when organizational leaders lack enough self-awareness to recognize their own rationalizations for incongruent behavior.

Chris Argyris, noted organizational consultant, educator, and theorist, uses the terms "espoused theory" and "theory in use" to describe the incongruence between organizational words and organizational behaviors. He suggests that organizational effectiveness can be improved by narrowing the chasm between what is espoused as organizational values and what is actually communicated to employees by the actions of managers.

This requires vigilance on the part of managers to ensure that their actions and behaviors support, rather than contradict, the conscious, deliberate messages fostered by the organization.

Let's take a look at some of the ways we sabotage ourselves in the organizational world, as well as in our personal lives. For those of you who are perpetually late for luncheon appointments, business meetings, etc.,-what you are subconsciously saying to those who are waiting for you is that they are worth less than whatever it is that's keeping you from being on time. This is also what you are saying to the employees who work for you when you fail to complete their performance evaluations on time. The long-term effect of this kind of behavior is that people begin to feel that they are worth less, or more appropriately, worthless.

Does this scenario sound like your company? The recession has hit hard and you're forced to do some layoffs. Unfortunately, the layoffs are announced just as the new furniture arrives for all the senior managers' offices. What does this say to the employees who have just received pink slips? Or just as important, what does it say to the friends of theirs who are left behind?

Do these things happen? Yes they do. Are they intentional? I sincerely hope not. I have to believe that it's just a lack of awareness and can be overcome with diligence.

I once had a manager ask for my opinion on how he should address his perpetually late secretary. This woman would consistently arrive 10 to 15 minutes late. When I suggested addressing it directly and developing a corrective action plan, this manager decided that what the secretary needed was an incentive. He actually gave her a raise, which he thought would act as an incentive to improve punctuality. Unfortunately, the message that the employee received was that she was rewarded for coming in 10 to 15 minutes late and so she started showing up 20 to 30 minutes late. Why would she do anything differently? The company or manager had overtly communicated that punctuality was important, but this manager's actions sent a totally contrary message.

Do you tell your employees that you value their input, but then consistently make decisions in a vacuum?

Do you insist that people are rewarded according to their contribution but perpetuate a system that rewards based on relationships with the boss?

Do you talk of diversity and the importance of employee empowerment, but insist that your way of doing something is the only way?
Do you speak of trust and openness but keep financial information tightly guarded?

Are you sharing with your employees that times are tough, but withhold "the numbers" because it's none of the employees' business? This is a classic situation that illustrates how the "wrong" message gets sent.

While actions may send a different message than what is intended, the lack of information will create an information void or vacuum. From physics we know that nature abhors a vacuum and does what it must to fill it. So do employees, and when the vacuum has to do with information, or the lack thereof, people will speculate and make up information to fill the void. Rarely is the made-up version even remotely close to the truth.

Now that I've started the list, I'm having a tough time getting out of it! The examples go on and on. I believe that the reason there are so many examples is that owners, executives, and managers fail to realize the importance of value(s)-based behavior in an organization.

If your words and your actions are a manifestation of a set of values by which you live your life, then your messages will remain consistent. If you are espousing values that are not part of your core being, then your behavior will not match your words.

Ultimately, people will judge you based on your behavior and actions and this will become the basis of your organizational culture.

Andrew Coutermarsh has an MS in management from Antioch University/Antioch New England Graduate School where he is a member of the adjunct faculty teaching human resource development. He holds SPHR (Senior Professional Human Resources) designation from the Certification Institute of the Society of Human Resource Management. He is also the director of human resources for Prime Resources Corp.