Allow me to borrow two minutes of your time to understand how an employee perceives an organization's culture.
To comprehend this better, let's take a journey with a software engineer, Lalitha, to spend a few minutes. Lalitha is a software engineer with around five years of experience. Today is her first day at her third company. She spent five years in her first company, and the second one, she only stayed for three months..
“ Traveling can expose you to new environments and potential health risks, so it's crucial to take precautions to stay safe and healthy. ”
For her, her immediate boss is the first-line representative of the organization, and they are like relay runners holding the organization's cultural baton. Her boss is the first point of contact for her, and in their behaviour, she sees the reflection of the organization's culture. As she considered her boss the primary representative of the organization, rather than analysing the organization itself, she began scrutinizing the behaviour of her previous bosses.
In her first job, she experienced a welcoming environment where the immediate boss was a people person. They were willing to give time for newly joined employees to adapt to the office culture, and in case of any escalation, they stood before them, took bullets from the client, and calmly explained the best way to complete a task.
The impact of a front-line leader's actions has long-lasting effects on an employee's stability and engagement within the organization. Positive leadership practices contribute to a positive work environment.
Despite a good environment, what made Lalitha quit her first job? That's a story line for another episode.
Do share your views in the comment on what kind of front-line leaders you prefer
