What We Can Learn about Company Culture from the Miami Dolphins
The details of the drama inside and outside the Miami Dolphins locker room continue to make headlines in both sports and general media. Regardless of who said or texted what to whom and when, it is clear that Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito view the situation very differently. This issue is clearly a case of poorly defined and communicated organizational culture.
Martin felt so helpless that he essentially quit his job playing professional football. The team suspended Incognito indefinitely. The other members of the Miami Dolphins seem to support the actions of Richie Incognito. The support and opinion of other players around the NFL seems to be mixed. What remains unclear is how much the Dolphins front office and coaching staff knew about the situation and why no player or member of management intervened.
It is clear, however, that the Miami Dolphins organization does not have a well-defined or well-communicated culture. If there were standards of acceptable behavior and belief in those standards, the current situation would not exist. Individual players would know what forms of behavior and communication are acceptable and what forms are not. They would also know how to best resolve issues that arise (Martin didn’t feel like he had anywhere to turn and Incognito didn’t even know there was an issue). In contrast, several other NFL organizations, like the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, make it very clear that this alleged behavior is not acceptable in their organizations.
As an NFL locker room is essentially a workplace, we can all apply a few lessons from this situation to our own companies.
First, it is imperative to define your culture. What behaviors and values are most important? How are disagreements and disputes resolved? How are customers and coworkers treated? Why do people want to work for your company? As HR leaders, we can work with our company executives and employees to clearly define the culture we currently have and/or the culture we aspire to.
Second, we must communicate this culture. Maybe the Miami Dolphins executives and coaches are comfortable with a culture that encourages Incognito’s reported actions. If they are, Martin clearly wasn’t aware of that cultural norm. Thus, clearly communicating cultural expectations is important. The best way to communicate cultural expectations is through actions. Executives and leaders (including us in HR) need to model the behaviors expected in their culture. They can also reinforce the behaviors in others by recognizing those that are displaying the company’s values and appropriately correcting those who are not.
Finally, we must hold individuals accountable to the culture and behavioral expectations. It is obvious that accountability does not exist in the Dolphins organization. Many executives, coaches and players claim they didn’t know what was happening. Those that did know wanted to stay out of the situation entirely. The NFL has called in an outside investigator to identify the facts and likely assign accountability.
The outcome of the situation is now out of the hands of the Dolphins executives. A clear culture definition and communication plan could have avoided this situation.
Kara Yarnot is Founder & President of Meritage Talent Solutions, a talent acquisition consultancy for corporate HR and vendors. Prior to launching her company, Kara held senior leadership positions at SAIC, The Boeing Company and NVR, Inc., among others. She can be contacted on Twitter @klyarnot, LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/karayarnot/, or via email at kara@meritagetalent.com.
You can also follow Kara's blog at www.talentchatter.com