Making Work Better

As a kid, I was eager to grow up so I could become a professional. I set up a desk in the living room, put out a sign that read “The Big Boss”, and supervised my little sister as she “called” numbers from the yellow pages to administer a survey about yogurt. I felt important, purposeful, satisfied in my benevolent leadership and important contributions to dairy research. At age 15, finally old enough to be employed in Massachusetts, I rode my bike to the local pizza parlor and asked for a job, much to the surprise and bewilderment of my parents. I was thrilled that I could now provide tangible value to my fellow humans (measurable in melted cheese) that in turn demonstrated my own value to society (measurable in tiny paychecks)

My adult enthusiasm for work is not quite as shiny after managing difficult employees, slogging through neverending emails and fighting to stay awake through pointless meetings. But my inner Big Boss feels every bit as driven to make a difference through hard work. She has strived purposefully through advocacy for child abuse prevention, hospice care and cultural community building. After 20 years in a variety of organizations, her big audacious goal has become to make work better.

Many of us spend close to half of our waking lives at work. We bring home the residue of frustrating coworkers, ineffective bosses and uncomfortable workspaces and spread it to friends, family and the person bagging our groceries. Our health suffers from disengagement and burnout. We have a nagging feeling that it’s supposed to be better than this, that all the effort we put in should amount to a bigger impact.

But wait! It can be better! Hopefully you’ve shared my experience of many workplace moments that don’t feel like they are straight out of The Office. Those times of collaboration and camaraderie when your team rallies around a shared challenge. Hearing from a grateful coworker that your support for them really mattered. Making a suggestion to leadership and having it not only listened to but also acted upon. Clearly understanding the vision for where the organization is going and knowing that you play an important role in getting there. Yes! This is what I want for you!

These are aspects of organizational culture: our collective values, beliefs and behaviors that add up to “how we do things around here”. Culture is a critical factor in employee engagement and retention. Intentionally creating the culture we want takes time, dedication and a willingness to get a little – and sometimes a lot – uncomfortable. The secret sauce is to start with small, simple adjustments that add up to big differences in how people interact with their work and with one another.

I’ve become a culture nerd who loves seeing the impact of these small steps. In my job at Cascade Health, we now begin every meeting with “connection before content”, a meaningful question that gives people insight into each other beyond just our work together. It’s been a quick and powerful way to build connection and improve collaboration during meetings. We recently refreshed our company values and are working on embedding them in our workplace both visually and behaviorally as a unifying north star. We launched an internal newsletter that embodies gratitude and fun through kudos for staff from coworkers, employee spotlights and upcoming events hosted by our Employee Experience Committee (this week it’s The Great Cascade Bake-Off).

I’m excited and grateful to have this opportunity as leader of Coalesce Consulting to help continue making work a place of greater collaboration, growth and purpose. Let’s make our world better one cubicle at a time!

Coalesce Consulting

Organizational Culture Development · Team Facilitation · Strategic Planning

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