Don’t Let Culture Vultures Get You or Your Brand Down

Posted on | August 29, 2008 |

By Kaira Sturdivant Rouda

At some point or another, you will encounter human roadblocks I call culture vultures. You know who I’m talking about—the non-team players, the ones who lay down the sandbags for roadblocks, challenge change agents, and can’t think out of the box. Or, you might be one of these people (I truly hope not)! The fact is, these people touch your brand and your customers. If you’re not together internally, it will affect your image externally.

Unlike snarks or employees who just don’t fit in the culture, these folks operate at a higher level and are more difficult to see and eliminate. They will come in the form of leaders who support you to your face and sabotage you behind your back.

Perhaps your vulture takes the form of a legacy employee who knows the back story of the brand you’ve acquired. You need that legacy knowledge transfer, but all the while, you must realize what that is costing you and your culture. You are stuck with the employee, for the time being. There may be more than one vulture, depending on the size of your business. Be on guard. The moment you suspect you don’t have someone’s 100 percent commitment, you’re right. Intuition is a gift, and you should listen to it.

Or it’s the brandits, as I call them, who undermine your brand’s positioning or imagery or strategies you’re trying to create. They will be the people in the meeting who roll their eyes at your new idea, but act as if they love it. Some vultures are more overt: openly challenging you and your plans. The key to remember is you can and will overcome these folks. But the first step is realization.

It’s hard not to be liked, not supported. To realize that is happening in your own company, when you’re working so hard to be real, to be authentic, is tough. I know. The second step is making sure you come out the winner in this power struggle. Shedding light on malcontents sometimes makes them leave, other times it makes them dig in even harder. If you find yourself in that position, stay strong. Confront misinformation as soon as you hear it. Make your network stronger than the vulture’s. The truth eventually will come out, because culture vultures reap what they sow. It just doesn’t usually happen in the timeframe you’re hoping for.

Culture vultures are saboteurs. They are dangerous and need to be dealt with. You can’t look to the future if you allow an environment where everyone is rowing in different directions. Trust me. You’ll see it once you take action. Accountability to one another, as a team, cannot happen unless everyone on the team buys in. When you work on your culture, with purpose and vision, you will uncover the vultures. Once you do, don’t be passive. Don’t get used. And as soon as possible, try to remove them from your team. If you can’t, proceed with caution and get help. You’re an innovator, and you need to surround yourself with people who embrace change.

For more on building culture, check out Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs. And stay turned for next week’s Real You column.

Kaira Sturdivant Rouda is the creator of Real Living, the first women-focused real estate brand. She has more than 20 years of experience marketing to women and is the author of Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs. To learn more, visit www.RealYouIncorporated.com and join the community.

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