“The vibe at work is not good,” said someone close to me the other day.
They — like so many these days — are in the midst of a series of org changes that are feeling…messy. Chaotic and reactive — rather than well-planned and intentional.
Too many companies are hiding behind “change is the new normal” — and all the other bumper stickers they feel excuses them from considering humanity; from actually looking at the volume of change their teams are trying to process simply because decisions aren’t being well considered or orchestrated.
Leaders are calling for more “resilience” without recognizing that even durable spirits have their limits.
I used to work for a company with this ethos. And I’d whisper quietly to my colleagues: “Ask me to run a mile. Then take my sneakers and ask me to do it again. Then take my legs and ask me to do it again.”
Somewhere in there lives the tipping point between resilience and absurdity.
Thing is, there’s no smoking gun. Bad vibes can be the most insidious because they fester quietly. In a bad vibe moment, trust erodes. People show up they just…aren’t giving their all. They’re not innovating or collaborating — they’re mostly waiting for the other shoe to drop.
This may seem soft or small. But the prospective costs — to productivity, to talent retention — can be super high.
So what then can we do about it?
My vote is for a Pulse Check. A candid check-in with some teams see how they’re faring, where they’re struggling or curious, and where a vibe switch might begin.
OK. So you’re concerned.
Here are the three things I bet are on your mind:
- But what if they ask for things we know we can’t deliver?
- What if this just turns into a ‘b%&ch-fest’?
- Doesn’t this mean admitting that we failed?
Whether you invite us in or you run this yourself, here are the ways to get around these concerns.
On your ability to deliver
Approach a Pulse Check like a frog would. See the shoreline but look for just the next lily pad you can jump to. And then the next. And the next.
We help formulate the right questions, plan for only the most manageable and digestible of changes, and critically we help ensure your teams see victory with every tiny increment of change.
On your fear of the fest
Time-bind the “tell us what’s troubling” portion of the conversation before moving into the “help us define increments of change” part of the discussion.
See, people need — and deserve — the space to vent for a hot minute. To know their experience is real and valid and shared by those around them. Creating this space builds trust and community — an actual collective of change agents ready to work together.
On the fear of claiming defeat
That’s just not what this is. It’s all in the set up. See, the context for a Pulse Check is not hey the alarm bells are ringing the fire is raging, and we desperately need to find a fix!
Nope, this conversation goes more like this: hey, we’re acknowledging there’s been a lot of change/reinvention/movement [choose your word] and we want to learn more about what’s moving smoothly and where we have opportunity to adjust or course-correct. It’s not about searching for failures, but gaps, questions, and more.
Whether or not you’re seeing the costs now, they are coming for you.
So, reader. I implore you. If bad vibes are hovering around you. Please reach out today. Contact me or better yet — grab some time on my calendar.
It would be my pleasure to talk you through how to do this with grace, with clarity, and with confidence that you have the power to make change in increments that will shift your vibe. Stat.