Where workplace bullying involves an organisational culture issue, systemic bullying is present. As we have learnt through this course, traditional approaches of addressing bullying at the individual level will not address systemic conditions that maintain a culture of bullying.
As we have also learnt in the previous sessions, ensuring SAFETY is critical. The SIMPLE. Method to unleashing the potential of people to be connected inspired and committed to united growth, highlights this as the 'must have' foundation - which all to often is missed.
Systemic bullying needs to be identified, explored and addressed. This involves naming the tension points that exist that support bullying behaviour.
Introducing our SIMPLE method
Here is our SIMPLE method which encapsulates the simple process required to ensure effective and lasting impact.
Keep it SIMPLE
Safety
Being able to to say it how it really is. A key indicator of workplaces who have challenges with their culture, is a lack of trust. You will not gain 'real' insight into what is going on for your people from their perspective if there is issues with safety to say what is really going on.
The unpacking tension points activity (next) is a beginning step to building safety, foundational is ensuring that they space for real conversation is a safe one for all involved.
Involve
Committed people involvement to inform and act.
Shifting the focus from insights to involvement means a shift from engagement to meaningful engagement. This is also the powerful enabler of unleashing collective potential. This simple shift in approach is a shift to building belonging. This requires an invested 'walking alongside approach', ensuring your people have support from the right lens of expertise and/or mandate to create meaningful change.
Finding out as much as you can, what is important, what is working well and the current challenges. Work with your people to gain insight from all perspectives, which provides the foundation to creating success measures together.
Measure
The results required to progress towards the united goal.
Key to unity is a united focus. This requires a clear goal and identification of the measurable key results infront that are required to progress towards that goal. "One of our organisational values is Care, but some of our people have identified feeling bullied and unsupported." Identify, spotlight, talk about it. Name and unpack the tension point, find out what needs to change and create a meaningful pathway forward.
Note for those interested in upskilling in creating clear measurable action plans, check out the SIMPLE. Method Certification Link at the end of this lesson. Becoming certified in SIMPLE. involves training in the GROWTH Framework, a universal planning tool providing a step by step process for effective mapping for transformation change at any level. However for now, the challenge is to embrace vulnerability (letting go of controlled process, risking not knowing the outcome or how this is going to be achieved) and starting those conversations! Often less is more when it comes to process, as long as there is good process.
Perspective
The lens people look from that informs their reality.
Whether formal insights or vulnerability based conversations, explore all lenses. What do we know? What don't we know? What insights do we need from each other and others to understand the whole? Find out as much as you can, what is important, what is working well and the current challenges. Work with your people to gain insight from all perspectives, which provides the foundation to creating success measures together.
Learn
The universal knowledge set required to unite.
This is the playbook on building safety, belonging and meaning. Ensure your leadership are well equipped to the 'why' behind these conditions and setting measures for their teams.
Evolve
The continual path to unleashing potential.
When organisations are aligned and fixed to their end outcome, but embrace an ability to navigate the way through a foundation of safety and involvement, reflection, learning, an inspiring path of evolution emerges. One where people can safely fall (the greatest opportunity to learn and evolve) where they will always be surrounded by people who will help them up and together grow through this learning. A path that unleashes the potential of people to be connected, inspired and committed to united growth.
Systemic bullying needs to be identified, explored and addressed. This involves naming the tension points that exist that support bullying behaviour.