Build a Better Workplace

By Tom Terez

The term might be new, but the condition has existed ever since people first teamed up to do work. It afflicts nearly every workplace to some degree. Even a low-grade case will cause high-grade misery over time, and sameolditis can be lethal for organizations that operate in fast-changing fields and industries.

Currently, there is no pill or injection that can prevent or cure sameolditis. But there are eight available treatments, to be used separately or in combination. They make use of three ingredients that are abundant yet rarely used in organizations: questions, exploration, and discovery.

All of these “treatments” can be self-administered. One approach is to gather one or two co-workers or your entire team. Select one of the eight categories below, and use the questions to seed the conversation. If you have regular meetings, perhaps that would be the right time. Otherwise, you might need to carve out some time elsewhere.

There are no right or wrong answers to the following questions, and you don’t need a long conversation. Even 15 minutes of dialogue will get people thinking — and that alone can have a positive impact on sameolditis. Just be sure this an ongoing conversation that leads to action.

Another approach is to use the following prompts on your own. You are your own first and foremost leader, right? You can get started right now.

Engaging your mind
When was the last time you got so caught up in interesting work that you lost track of time? What were you doing? What was it — about the work itself, how you were going about it, its connection to a greater good — that made this such an engaging activity?

Seeing results
When you want to see the results of your work, what do you look at? How do you know that your effort is having a positive impact? If you could wave a wand and instantly create a more meaningful system for tracking results, what would it look like?

Tackling problems
What is your biggest challenge at work? What makes it so tough to address, and what is the great opportunity that lies within? How would you go about pursuing this opportunity if you had none of the workplace barriers that seem to exist? What creative approaches might make the difference?

Serving customers
When your customers talk about your organization behind your back, what do you think they say? Who has the highest praise, who is most critical…and why? What are they really saying? If you were in your customers’ shoes commenting on the work you do for them, what would you say?

Achieving unity and diversity
What gets greater emphasis in your workplace, unity or diversity? If it’s unity, does the pursuit of oneness prompt people to downplay their differences? If it’s diversity, does the workplace ever feel like a loose collection of conflicting styles and agendas? How can unity and diversity gain strength from each other? What can be done to achieve both of these workplace imperatives in maximum measure?

Giving and getting respect
Johann von Goethe said, “The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” How does this play out in your workplace? What could be done right now to make respect one of the workplace’s greatest strengths?

Acknowledging the elephant
Is there an elephant in your workplace — a big problem or concern that no one ever talks about? Something that’s known to all and in desperate need of dialogue? If so, why is the elephant so unacknowledged? What are the risks of talking about it? What are the potential benefits?

Empowering yourself
“If I had just a bit more authority at work, I would _____.” Fill in the blank with several actions you’d like to take right now to be more effective in your job. Then explore why you can’t. What’s holding you back? What is the one action you can get started on right now?