What Happens When a Department Has a Bad Reputation

We all know when two employees have a conflict, there are countless articles on how to coach and mitigate the situation. But what happens when departments have conflicts? In virtually every organization, there are teams that don’t work well together. It may be a rub between marketing and sales, or operations and production. No matter the departments, this rub impacts morale, culture, communication, productivity, and in the end — profits.

Department conflicts stem more from culture than solely from leadership. We often want to find a single source of blame for problems, and no question that a department leader sets the example for their staff, in addition to endorsing certain behaviors. Yet collectively, a department can easily create a reputation within the organization — one that’s difficult to work with, stonewalls initiatives, belittles others, and over-elevates their own activities and importance.

As a department, you need to know and understand your organizational reputation. If your identity — what you think about your department and tell others — does not match your reputation — what others actually experience — it will cause organizational bottlenecks. Information won’t be shared readily. People will create home-grown work arounds. Other departments will stop collaborating. In short, your department will exist on a proverbial island, and not effectively support the success of the organization as a whole.

It’s essential that departments work together. Rarely are initiatives completed soup-to-nuts without the support, participation, or contribution from another department. Leaders frequently lament about organizational siloing, but often look at it through an operational lense — whether it be lack of communication or process frameworks. However more often, the cause of this problem is the perceived or actual reputation of a department, and how easy or hard they are to work with.

If you have initiatives that are perpetually on the “to-do” list, or constant internal debates about who is the “owner” of a project, or frequent issues with one department not communicating with another, stop looking at structure and look at the people. Naturally, people want to work with others that elevate them, challenge them in a healthy way, help them be better and more effective, and help them accomplish something they can be proud of. Is your department acting in a way that elevates the organization or simply focused on your own metrics and the things you want to do for yourself?

In short, no department is more important than another. While some may disagree, each and every department exists to serve the organization and the greater organizational goals. When one department behaves in a way where their “reputation” precedes them, it fosters a culture of internal competition and an “every department for themselves” mentality. Department heads must take the time to examine their internal reputation — and how it helps or hinders your ability to work with other departments to support the growth of the company.

This requires honesty — to listen to and take in both the good and the bad — and then using that information to relaunch your department’s internal brand if necessary. Just like an individual, you have to be aware of and continually refine your personal brand. If your department has built an internal brand that has a negative reputation, it’s essential to create a plan to correct it. Otherwise, you’ll be the ones actually holding the organization back — whether you know it or not.

About the Author

Andrea’s 25-year, field-tested background provides practical, behavioral science approaches to creating differentiated, human-focused organizations. A 4x ADDY award-winner, TEDx presenter, and 3x book author, she began her career at a tech start-up and led the strategic sales, marketing, and customer engagement efforts at two global industrial manufacturers. She now leads a change agency dedicated to helping organizations differentiate their brands using behavioral science.

In addition to writing and consulting, Andrea speaks to leaders and industry organizations around the world. Connect with Andrea to access information on her book, keynoting, research, or consulting. More information is also available on www.pragmadik.com or www.andreabelkolson.com.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.