It’s like a bomb going off.
A top cancer surgeon was put on notice due to his behavior which was causing a toxic environment for this team in the operating room. The hospital, looking to improve staff retention, had implemented 360 feedback, and his feedback was horrid.
For many, 360 feedback is like a bomb going off. 360 feedback is different than an annual performance review from your manager. It’s when your peers and subordinates, in addition to your manager, evaluate you.
If you don’t have honest relationships with teammates, the 360 feedback you get can be surprising.
When someone gets unexpected negative feedback at work and you don’t want them to quit, you can benefit from engaging expert help. Career and executive coaches help employees accept and address the behavior changes they need to make.In times of stress, teams perform better for leaders with whom they have positive relationships.
Strong relationships make the system run better.
The top cancer surgeon cared about his patients. He cared so deeply about them that he gave them his personal cell phone.
Conversely, he did not care about his relationships with his colleagues or operating room staff.
Understandably, retention was a problem with his staff.
His 360 feedback summarized the root cause. In addition to no personal connections with his team, he did not regulate his emotions well during stressful surgeries. As a result, his colleagues and staff did not want to work with him.
Over several sessions with his executive coach, the surgeon came to understand that his behavior was causing his team to not be able to do their best work for the patients.
In addition to the coaching, his coach provided him scholarly articles showing the neuroscience that explains how in times of stress, teams perform better for leaders with whom they have positive relationships.
She explained to him that when several people are part of a system that delivers an output, like a live-saving surgery, strong relationships make that system run better.
He got it. Then, he slowly but deliberately built personal relationships with his peers and team.
Now this surgeon delivers an ‘opening speech’ before surgeries where he lets his team know that he has the utmost respect for each of them, and that he most likely will raise his voice and shout commands during the surgery due to intensity of what they may encounter. So, they should be ready for that.
His speech works because of the personal relationships built. Now, during surgeries the team feels less stress, and after the surgeries the team feels valued because the surgeon publicly acknowledges their collective good work.We learn from others at work.
How people interact in a workplace environment
We learn from others at work. This surgeon came out of a very toxic residency program that included workplace violence. He genuinely didn’t understand that building relationships with his peers and staff was required and what that looked like.
Once convinced he had to change, he worked hard transforming his mindset to value workplace relationships. He successfully turned his toxic workplace environment into a healthy and high functioning environment.
I love this story told to me by an executive coach.
It shows how someone can evolve and grow when provided facts, an opportunity, support, and an incentive.
And, it shows how changing one person’s behavior has ripple effects across an organization!
Your leaders and this summer’s interns
Young adults today have heard the horror stories of toxic workplaces and are very cautious about where they will work. As interns, they are sizing up the company just as much as the company is sizing up them.
Know when an intern says “no thanks” to a job offer, often the reasons boil down to the fact that they don’t feel the company can meet their needs.
✅ To work with people who care about them.
✅ To grow their skills and marketability
✅ For work that’s meaningful
✅ To work for organization that aligns with their values
Any unchecked box signals that organization’s employee experience most likely is not a fit for them.
Today’s young adults are looking for a workplace that’s like a happy home🏡.
They want to work for an awesome manager and be part of a team that likes one another and wins.
They want to be pushed by and achieve results with leaders whom they trust. ❤️
Leaders who demonstrate the employee experience is a fit will get more accepted job offers from their interns.
5 ways to get more accepted job offers
- Provide them a warm supervisor- Assign them a supervisor that will genuinely care about their experience and will consistently spend time with them.
- Bring them in the fold-Design your interns’ experience so that they have people around them in-person with whom they can casually interact. Assign a cohort of interns a group project.
- Connect work to bigger picture- Give them enough work to do. Take time to explain how their specific work fits into the company’s products and services or strategic goals. Young adults are seeking meaning in their work. Show them the meaning.
- Develop their soft skills. - Assess soft skills and give them an assignment that pushes them to grow these essential skills. For example, show them how to prepare a meeting agenda and run a meeting. Then have them do it.
- Someone like me-Make networking part of their internship summer. Coach them on the basics of meeting someone new in a professional setting. Have them set up 3-4 networking meetings, including at least one with someone that has a similar background to them.
Leaders who make sure their interns’ experience accurately reflects their company’s culture and values will have more interns who say “yes please” to their job offer.
These young adults will be counting down the days until they can come back to their workplace home.🏡
Key Points
The best hiring leaders sell belonging, not benefits—showing candidates where they’ll grow, contribute, and be valued.
Candidates don’t decline great offers—they decline unclear ones. Clear communication and genuine connection close the gap between “maybe” and “yes.”