We’re In A Crisis of Workplace Culture. Here’s How To Fix It

This post originally appeared on Forbes

With a new corporate catastrophe reported almost daily—from United Airlines to Fox News—we’ve got a crisis of workplace culture and trust in our midst. We’re not just losing our cool, we’re losing sight of our values.

Recent events in which teams from United Airlines forcibly removed Dr. David Dao from a flight in a horrific scene, and Bill O’Reilly was asked to leave his post as long-time host of “The O’Reilly Factor” in the wake of sexual harassment allegations have fueled some of our most widely read corporate news stories of late. Both of these incidents have revealed surprising insights into company priorities and have sparked a sweeping revaluation of industry-wide values.

The major issue at the heart of these incidents, and the others that have occurred since then at American Airlines, Delta, and more: A sea change in the relationship between value (as determined by worth and money) and an organization’s values (what drives it and what they aspire to).

Value isn’t just about what you get for what you pay. It’s the promise you make to your customers when they trust in your services. And trust, as we’ve seen in both of these headlines, is very hard, sometimes even impossible, to rebuild once broken.

In the case of United, the incident revealed a culture based on following rules rather than doing what’s right or effective. Hopefully the lesson here is that when following procedure and optimizing costs comes ahead of the customer experience, companies can seriously impact the value they are delivering to the very people who are paying. This lack of empathy was met with viral rage worldwide–costing them greatly in terms of brand equity, money, and customer trust.

Similar for Fox News: While O’Reilly was a top producer for them economically, the company was forced to do a values cleanse and decide if his contribution, his monetary “value,” was worth sacrificing the ideological “values” that form the pillars of their relationship to the audience they serve.

Perhaps it’s been a gradual erosion of such core values that’s contributed to the escalating crisis of culture in the workplace that we face now. If so, it’s all the more imperative that we take steps to combat the loss. Training in the components of resilience can be our guide, as resilient people, teams, and organizations are built on empathy, integrity, purpose, and perhaps most importantly, values. Here are the 4 keys to building resilience in any organization—connecting your company value to its values.

1. Empower employees with a sense of purpose and self-efficacy.

When an employee feels that her contributions don’t matter, she becomes more and more disengaged. Leaders must communicate not only the values of the organization, but how each employee plays a role in making that happen—and empower them to do the right thing by their customers.

United Airlines might have averted disaster had they encouraged empathy and critical thinking that addresses each new situation as exactly that—not some templated textbook scenario that turns people into numbers. When we overlook people’s experience and well-being for the sake of rigid coherence to policy, we forget our values, which ironically would probably not align with placing policy over people.

How to do it: Show your team that you value them acting in accordance with your organization’s values. Make sure you celebrate the grit that it takes to accomplish your common goals and to go the extra mile. Check out this article on how a little recognition can go a long way in engagement.

2. Model receptivity to change.

Frame your values as a living, breathing document that forms the foundation of your organization. A large component of resilience is flexibility and openness to change. Don’t let rigidity stifle growth. Instead, foster ongoing communication and encourage critical thinking about reshaping and improving your organization. Giving your team ownership of this process will help them better internalize the values of your organization, and also model the importance of growth and improvement.

3. Determine and Communicate your values. Often.

Don’t wait until crisis mode hits to examine your policies. Establish—and revaluate—them on a regular basis. Make sure that you are “walking the walk,” in that your organization embodies them on every level, and that your team is aligned behind them, working towards the same mission. As a leader, it’s on you to be sure everyone’s operating by the same playbook, and having an annual meeting or method of making those values clear is critical to keeping your work aligned with them.

4. Own up to it.

If something bad does happen, be transparent and human about it. Defending your pride when you’ve made a mistake can cost you a major opportunity for growth and can cost you your reputation—especially when others clearly see you are in the wrong, and they are seeking retribution or validation. The only way to move forward is to take accountability. United CEO Oscar Munoz was criticized for his initial unempathetic response to the scandal. And because his first move wasn’t a strong one, he had to backpedal—putting him in a position where he had a harder time gaining empathy or trust. When and if you find yourself in a sticky situation, instead of trying to save face, validate, identify areas for growth, make amends, and move forward—better and stronger than before.

You can’t wait until you’re in crisis mode to build organizational connection to your values. Make them an operational focal point—embodying them regularly in practice and aligning your people behind them.