Festivals are the heart of our culture, and at Perficient, we take pride in celebrating them with enthusiasm . On January 15th, 2025 our office came alive with the joy of  harvest season known with multiple names : Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Lohri, Bihu, and MakaraVilakku – festivals that mark the harvest season and symbolize gratitude, prosperity, and new beginnings.

A Glimpse into the Festivities

• Makar Sankranti is celebrated across India as a harvest festival and the transition of the sun into Capricorn, bringing longer days and warmer sunshine.

• Pongal, observed in Tamil Nadu, is a four-day festival dedicated to nature, symbolizing gratitude to the Sun God and the bountiful harvest.
• Lohri ,harvest fesival linked to the Punjab region celebrated by lighting bonfires, eating festive food, dancing and collecting gifts
• Bihu, the Assamese festival, celebrates the harvest with dance, music, and feasts, reflecting the spirit of community and joy.
• Makara Villakku, a part of the Sabarimala pilgrimage in Kerala, marks an auspicious day of devotion and light.

The most exciting activity of this season is flying kites, which symbolizes freedom, hope, and the joy of soaring high, reminding us to aim for greater heights.

Festive Day at Perficient

Our day began with employees arriving in traditional attire, adding a cultural touch to the office ambiance. Together we decorated the office and greeted each other with warmth and festive cheer.

The most exciting activity of the day was kite flying on the terrace. With the perfect windy weather on our side, employees teamed up to fly colorful kites, competing to bypass and “cut” each other’s strings, filling the air with laughter. It was a moment of nostalgia as we exchanged childhood memories of celebrating these festivals across different states. Having colleagues from diverse regions added richness to our conversations.

Back in the office premises, the energy continued with a game of tug-of-war. Employees formed separate teams of men and women, engaging in this competition. Togetherness and laughter turned this simple game into a fun-filled activity.

The celebrations concluded with delicious snacks: perfect way to wind down.

Conclusion

Beyond the decorations, games, and food, the day highlighted the beauty of our diversity and the bonds we build by embracing it. As we look forward to more such celebrations, we are reminded of the value of unity in diversity – a principle that enriches not just our workplace but also our lives. Here’s to many more moments of togetherness, joy, and success at Perficient!

Awards Recognize Perficient for Prioritizing a People-First Mindset and Workplace Experience 

We’re thrilled to share that Perficient has been recognized by Energage and Nectar with three 2024 Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Awards: Professional Development Top Workplaces, Top Workplaces for Appreciation, and Employee Well-Being Top Workplaces! This recognition underscores our unwavering commitment to fostering a world-class culture that challenges, champions, and celebrates our people. 

Earlier this year, Perficient was honored as a 2024 USA Today Top Workplace, ranking 26 on the top 100 list of large employers in the U.S. Our 2024 Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Awards are a continuation of that program in celebration of our award-winning culture and our colleagues who make a difference each day. Take a look as we delve deeper into each award and explore some of the programs, practices, and initiatives that have contributed to Perficient’s vibrant and people-first culture.  

Professional Development Top Workplaces: Elevating Career Growth Through Growth for Everyone 

The Professional Development Top Workplaces award recognizes companies that prioritize the growth and career advancement of their employees. At the heart of Perficient’s People Promise is Growth for Everyone, a system of professional development resources, training programs, and tools aimed at guiding every colleague on their own transformational career journey. 

Perficient’s award-winning Growth for Everyone program provides a wide range of professional development programming, including our Consultant Curriculum, Leading With Impact, and Learning to Lead programs. New this year, we introduced an optional resource created exclusively for colleagues who have completed one of our leadership development programs – Perficient Elevate. The program includes on-demand curriculum and live training sessions designed to help colleagues become more effective leaders. 

Perficient’s commitment to continuous learning ensures colleagues stay at the forefront of the latest industry trends and advancements. Our recognition as a Professional Development Top Workplace pays tribute to our promise to champion the career development of our global colleagues.  

Read More: Discover More About Perficient’s Growth for Everyone Programming  

Top Workplaces for Appreciation: Recognizing and Celebrating Colleague Success 

The Top Workplaces for Appreciation award honors companies that believe in creating an environment where self-sustaining performance and positivity are a direct result of genuine employee appreciation. Through efforts like Perficient’s Shoutouts program and the annual Perficient Excellence Awards, we’re fostering a cycle of continued workplace appreciation for a job well done.   

First introduced in 2021, Perficient’s Shoutouts program revolutionized the way colleagues recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of their team. With a live colleague Shoutout feed displayed across the company intranet, we’re ensuring that recognition is visible and celebrated globally. Colleagues can quickly and easily recognize individuals and entire teams for their hard work and personal achievements. This fosters a sense of pride and accomplishment that strengthens collaboration, boosts confidence, and instills a deeper sense of belonging across our global organization. 

The annual Perficient Excellence Awards program is another way we celebrate our colleagues who are making a difference in their everyday actions. The awards are based on peer nominations, with hundreds of colleagues submitting nominations for their co-workers who truly embrace our core values: Integrity, Innovation, Clients, Collaboration, People, and Pride. In 2024, we recognized 32 colleagues with Perficient’s Excellence Awards, honoring a distinguished group who make a difference for our clients, partners, community, and each other. Perficient’s Top Workplace for Appreciation category award is a testament to the collaborative spirit of our people and our efforts to recognize colleagues for their dedication to boldly advancing our business.  

Read More: Celebrate the Success of Our Colleagues By Reading Their Personal Growth Stories  

Employee Well-Being Top Workplaces: Prioritizing Colleague Health and Happiness 

Perficient’s commitment to ensuring the health and well-being of our people reflects the unique culture found across our global offices. The Employee Well-Being Top Workplaces award highlights select organizations that place health and wellness at the forefront of their workplace culture and recognizes their commitment to fostering a supportive community. 

Through our LiveWell Employee Resource Group (ERG), we’re providing support to colleagues in achieving overall wellness in three key areas: health, relationships, and finance. The LiveWell ERG provides regular programming and dialogue focused on helping colleagues nurture their mind, body, and soul. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in October, the LiveWell ERG organized its first Global Wellness Challenge with a mission to foster healthy habits and lifestyle choices. Colleagues from around the world can participate in a friendly competition between teams by participating in a variety of wellness activities that support their mental and physical well-being. 

By emphasizing colleague well-being, we’re ensuring that Perficient is an inclusive space where everyone can become the best version of themselves. Our recognition as an Employee Well-Being Top Workplace serves as a testament to our promise to challenge, champion, and celebrate our people.  

Read More: Learn About Perficient’s Commitment to Employee Well-Being With LiveWell 

Celebrating a Culture of Excellence 

Perficient’s 2024 Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Awards celebrate our ongoing efforts to develop an environment focused on professional development, genuine appreciation, and health and well-being. This not only enhances the colleague experience but also drives the success of our global company. Together, we are creating meaningful connections around the world that shatter boundaries and forge the future for generations to come.  

READY TO GROW YOUR CAREER?  

At Perficient, we continually look for ways to champion and challenge our talented workforce with interesting projects for high-profile clients, encourage personal and professional growth through training and mentoring, and celebrate our people-oriented culture and the innovative ways they serve Perficient and the community.  

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient at our Careers page.  

Go inside Life at Perficient and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.  

Collaboration Among Teams 

Collaboration among teams involves creating an environment where individuals and teams work together effectively to achieve common goals. Effective collaboration is critical for high performance, innovation, and delivering value to customers. Collaboration is characterized by open communication, shared responsibilities, mutual respect, and a collective commitment to success. It ensures that knowledge and expertise are distributed and utilized efficiently, leading to better decision-making and faster problem-solving. 

Facilitating Collaboration and Avoiding Silos 

To promote a culture of collaboration and avoid the formation of silos, organizations should implement strategies that encourage teamwork, transparency, and shared ownership. Here are several ways to foster collaboration, along with real-life examples from software development companies: 

Regular Communication and Meetings 

Establish regular meetings, such as daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives, to facilitate communication and alignment. 

Example: Scrum teams at Microsoft hold daily stand-ups to discuss progress, blockers, and plans, ensuring everyone is on the same page and can address issues promptly. 

Collaborative Tools 

Use collaborative tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, and Confluence to enhance communication, project management, and knowledge sharing. 

Example: GitHub uses its own platform for collaborative coding, allowing multiple developers to work on the same codebase, review each other’s work, and merge changes seamlessly. 

Shared Goals and Objectives 

Align team goals with organizational objectives and ensure everyone understands how their work contributes to the overall mission. 

Example: Amazon’s “Leadership Principles” guide teams to work backward from the customer, ensuring that everyone is focused on delivering value and achieving shared goals. 

Shared Documentation and Standards 

Develop shared documentation and coding standards to ensure consistency and clarity across teams. This helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures that everyone is working towards the same standards. 

Example: Google maintains comprehensive documentation and style guides for its development practices, ensuring that all teams follow the same guidelines and standards. 

Rotational Programs 

Implement rotational programs where employees can work in different teams or departments for a period. This helps them understand different aspects of the company and fosters better collaboration. 

Example: IBM’s rotational program allows employees to work in various departments, gaining a broad understanding of the organization and building relationships across teams. 

Celebrating Successes Together 

Celebrate team successes and milestones together to build a sense of community and shared purpose. 

Example: At Atlassian, team successes are celebrated through regular “All-Hands” meetings where achievements are recognized, fostering a sense of unity and shared accomplishment. 

Conclusion 

Effective collaboration among teams is essential for achieving high performance, innovation, and delivering value in software development. By implementing strategies such as forming cross-functional teams, using collaborative tools, aligning goals, developing shared documentation and standards, organizing rotational programs, and celebrating successes together, organizations can foster a collaborative environment and avoid the pitfalls of siloed work. These practices not only enhance teamwork and communication but also drive continuous improvement and innovation, leading to better outcomes for the organization and its customers. 

How do you assess your company? 

• Teams build and support knowledge transfer processes.​
• Teams create good documentation.​
• Leadership supports assistance across teams.​
• Teams exhibit trust in other teams.​
• Resources are encouraged to move between departments.​
• Successes are shared and celebrated at the organizational level.​
• There is actively and continuously rewarding work that facilitates collaboration.

  Cultural Capabilities Series

• Cultivating a Performance Oriented Culture
• How to Create a Continuous Learning Culture?
• How Job Satisfaction Boosts Employee Engagement?
• Unlock the Power of Transformational Leadership

References: 

• Forsgren, N., Humble, J., & Kim, G. (2018). Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations. IT Revolution Press. 

• How Microsoft Uses Scrum to Improve Team Collaboration” – Microsoft Agile Blog 

• “Amazon’s Leadership Principles.” Amazon Day One Blog. 

• “Google Engineering Documentation.” Google Engineering Blog. 

• “IBM Rotational Programs.” IBM Careers Blog. 

• “All-Hands Meetings at Atlassian.” Atlassian Blog. 

MORE ON GROWTH FOR EVERYONE 

Perficient continually looks for ways to champion and challenge our workforce, encourage personal and professional growth, and celebrate the unique culture created by the ambitious, brilliant, people-oriented team we have cultivated. These are their stories. 

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient on our Careers page. Connect with us on LinkedIn here. 

Perficient’s newest ERG, PRISM, kicked off the summer with vibrant celebrations and important conversations surrounding Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community. A key event this year was our “Pronouns 101”, an enlightening and empowering session focused on understanding and respecting the diverse identities within our community.

Pronouns 101 provided attendees and viewers with a comprehensive understanding of pronouns and their significance in fostering a respectful and welcoming environment for everyone.

The session began by reviewing a detailed explanation of what pronouns are and why they matter. We discussed the importance of using the correct pronouns to show respect and acknowledgement of each individual.

One of the key points was the use of neo-pronouns such as xe, ze, and even they. Gender neutral pronouns have been in use since at least the 1800’s with the singular use of “they” going back to the 14th century.

Some of the best practices reviewed focused on three key elements: share, ask, and don’t assume. The best thing we can do as leaders is to normalize introductions of pronouns by introducing ourselves with pronouns. For example, “Hi, my name is Nicole, and I use she/they pronouns”.

Leaders can take things a step further by making this a standard part of introductions with new teams. This helps ensure everyone is included and feels seen and heard.

So, what happens if you make a mistake?

Mistakes happen, we all say the wrong thing sometimes. The best thing to do when you make a mistake is apologize and move on.

If you’re thinking, what else can I do, here are some great options!

Remember that acknowledging and using correct pronouns shows that we value everyone and helps create a more welcoming environment.

Be mindful of gendered phrases. We often use gendered phrases like “Hey guys” and “Welcome ladies and gentlemen”. These phrases can make individuals feel ostracized or undervalued. Some great alternatives are using phrases like “Hey all”, “Welcome everyone”, and “Great work team” are just some examples of alternatives.

Remember that using the correct pronouns helps affirm identity, validates individual experiences, and can significantly impact a person’s sense of belonging and safety.

Using correct pronouns is more than a matter of grammar; it’s about recognizing and affirming each person’s identity. It is a simple yet powerful way to show respect and create a sense of belonging. By making a conscious effort to use correct pronouns, we contribute to a more inclusive and accepting society.

The Pronouns 101 event was a fitting conclusion to Pride Month, reinforcing the values of acceptance, understanding, and respect. As we move forward, let us carry the lessons learned and continue to advocate for inclusivity in our daily lives. By embracing and respecting each other’s identities, we build a stronger, more united community.

Supporting Learning 

Supporting learning in a software development company means creating an environment where continuous learning and improvement are integral to the culture. This involves fostering an atmosphere where team members are encouraged to develop new skills, share knowledge, and learn from both successes and failures. A focus on learning leads to higher performance, innovation, and resilience within teams and the organization. 

To promote a continuous learning approach, organizations should implement practices and create a culture that encourages and facilitates learning at all levels. 

Achieving a continuous learning approach 

Here are several strategies and real-life examples of how to achieve this: 

Knowledge Sharing Platforms 

Implement platforms and tools that facilitate knowledge sharing among team members. This can include internal wikis, documentation, and collaborative tools. 

Example: Spotify uses a combination of internal blogs, wikis, and Slack channels to share knowledge and best practices across teams. This helps keep everyone informed and up to date on the latest developments and innovations. 

Regular Training, Workshops, Learning Sessions and Talks

Provide regular training, workshops, learning sessions, and talks. Give access to online courses to help employees develop new skills and stay current with industry trends. 

Example: Google offers its employees access to a wide range of courses through its internal learning platform, Grow. Employees are encouraged to spend a portion of their workweek on learning and development activities. 

Pair Programming and Code Reviews 

Encourage pair programming and regular code reviews to facilitate knowledge transfer and improve code quality. 

Example: At Pivotal Labs, pair programming is standard practice. Developers work in pairs, rotating regularly, which helps spread knowledge across the team and improves the overall quality of the codebase. 

Hackathons and Innovation Days 

Organize hackathons and innovation days where employees can work on projects of their choice. This encourages creativity and allows team members to explore new technologies and ideas. 

Example: Atlassian hosts ShipIt Days, 24-hour hackathons where employees can work on any project, they are passionate about. This has led to numerous innovations and improvements in their products. 

Mentorship Programs 

Establish mentorship programs to help junior developers learn from more experienced colleagues. This can accelerate learning and foster a supportive culture. 

Example: LinkedIn’s mentorship program pairs junior engineers with senior engineers to provide guidance and support. This helps new hires ramp up quickly and integrate into the company culture. 

Encourage Experimentation

Create an environment where experimentation is encouraged, and failures are viewed as learning opportunities. Allow teams to take calculated risks and learn from the outcomes. 

Example: Amazon’s “two-way door” decision-making process encourages teams to experiment with new ideas, knowing that most decisions can be reversed if they do not work out. This fosters a culture of innovation and learning. 

Continuous Feedback Loops 

Implement continuous feedback loops through regular one-on-one meetings, retrospectives, and performance reviews. Use the feedback to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth. 

Example: Microsoft uses regular check-ins and retrospectives to provide feedback and discuss development goals. This helps employees stay on track and continually improve their skills and performance. 

Conclusion 

Supporting learning in a software development company is crucial for fostering a high-performance culture that is resilient, innovative, and continuously improving. Organizations can create an environment where continuous learning is deeply ingrained in the culture by implementing practices such as knowledge-sharing platforms, regular training, pair programming, hackathons, mentorship programs, encouraging experimentation, and continuous feedback loops. This not only enhances the skills and capabilities of individual team members but also drives the overall success and competitiveness of the organization. 

How do You Assess your Company or Project? 

• Learning is invisible or non-existent.​
• Learning is a cost. Time for learning is considered unproductive and interferes with real work.​
• Learning is budgeted and visible, is considered a perk or is reserved for select resources. Resources have limited ability to choose topics.​
• Learning from customers and actual usage of the system is an investment broadly available. Mentoring is supported.​
• Learning is continuous.  incorporates views from all stakeholders and is encouraged as a normal course of work. Mentoring is seen as a learning practice.

Cultural Capabilities Series

• Cultivating a Performance Oriented Culture
• Effective Team Collaboration: Strategies for High Performance and Success
• How Job Satisfaction Boosts Employee Engagement?
• Unlock the Power of Transformational Leadership

References 

• Forsgren, N., Humble, J., & Kim, G. (2018). Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations. IT Revolution Press. 

• “Grow with Google: Employee Learning and Development.” Google Careers. 

• “Spotify’s Approach to Knowledge Sharing.” Spotify Engineering Blog. 

• “Pair Programming at Pivotal Labs.” Pivotal Labs Blog. 

• “ShipIt Days at Atlassian.” Atlassian Blog. 

• “LinkedIn’s Mentorship Program.” LinkedIn Engineering Blog. 

• “Amazon’s Culture of Experimentation.” Amazon Day One Blog. 

• “Microsoft’s Continuous Feedback Culture.” Microsoft Careers Blog.

MORE ON GROWTH FOR EVERYONE 

Perficient continually looks for ways to champion and challenge our workforce, encourage personal and professional growth, and celebrate the unique culture created by the ambitious, brilliant, people-oriented team we have cultivated. These are their stories. 

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient on our Careers page. Connect with us on LinkedIn here. 

In 1968, psychiatrist Stephen Karpman modeled what he called the Drama Triangle. With this, he illustrated dysfunctional mindsets that can derail social interactions. The three roles defined in this model are the rescuer (hero), persecutor (villain), and victim.

This is another view of the lies we tell ourselves. Since the dawn of history, we’ve loved stories. We entertain ourselves with fiction and non-fiction, dramas and comedies. Whether true or not, our imaginations search for these hero, villain, and victim storylines in our own lives – potentially to our detriment.

Sabotage by Projecting on Others

Things are seldom as dramatic as we see in books and movies, but some pieces align with real life from time to time. Occasionally we experience the angel who saves us, or we get to relish in satisfaction when the bad guy falls.

We end up projecting these roles based on what we THINK we should expect from others. Not often do we challenge our own assumptions or verify by asking the other party why they are acting the way they are. We avoid tough conversations that could otherwise lead to a true understanding of someone else’s viewpoint.

Our minds incorrectly associate brief snapshots of a role fulfilled as confirmation of our beliefs. However, people are multi-faceted and unlikely to always fill the same role we have attributed to them. We are complex creatures, and thinking we can understand without verifying is sabotage.

The Hero Role

In Karpman’s original examples he states that the rescuer role uses the line, “Let me help you.” However, he goes on to talk about how it can backfire. This role may remind you of the “I’m the Main Character” trope in modern memery [coining a new phrase here] – even the mental health industry references it.

When you label yourself as the hero in your story, then you run the risk of unfairly naming a villain so that you can:

• feel good about yourself
• always be considered “right”
• assume others are incapable
• receive most of the credit

If you label someone else as the hero in your story you avoid the responsibility of taking ownership yourself. You’ll wait for someone else to swoop in to save the day, but perhaps that day will never come. This is not good either.

The Villain Role

“It’s all your fault,” is the line that Karpman attributes to the persecutor role. Words associated with this might be controlling, critical, rigid, or even angry.

When someone fills this role in your mental story, they tend to be an authoritative individual, deemed superior in position but not necessarily intellect. This is a role that most people don’t assign themselves. If you are creating this role for someone else, it would be to:

• attack someone else
• avoid taking any blame yourself
• gain favor with peers and subordinates
• express pessimism (a safe way to always be right)

It is helpful to understand that the person you label a villain probably thinks of themselves as a hero or a victim. If they have a different goal or viewpoint, perhaps you are aiming at different targets. You can try to find a mutual North Star Goal.

The Victim Role

Karpman portrayed the victim role as saying, “Poor me!” Often viewed as helpless, avoiding risk, and incapable of affecting change (usually with multiple lackluster attempts). The victim will call out a specific villain and is likely waiting for a hero to arrive.

Most people don’t attribute this role to themselves. It’s not a desirable role and it’s a tough pill to swallow when you realize you are living in it. You might notice it in other lies we tell ourselves like the “us versus them” storyline. Here are some phrases you may hear from someone playing the victim:

• They would never agree to it.
• I’ve tried and tried, but it doesn’t work here.
• That is above my pay grade.
• Someone else is responsible for taking care of that.

Assigning this role to others can show a lack of confidence in them, even to the point of disdain toward them. You recognize a lack of intentionality with them. You don’t consider yourself part of that crowd, but you also aren’t willing to step up to be their savior.

Redemption Through Truth and Transparency

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that none of these roles are good ones. A hero is egotistical and searching for praise. The villain is likely fabricated or misunderstood. Victims are weak and disorganized.

Are you any of those? Not likely. There are probably times when you fill one of the roles for a season, but no one should be pigeonholed to a role. Most of us experience situational uncertainty. We have good days. We have bad days. And that’s the truth. Our actions vary based on the circumstances. We’re all imperfect. We’re all emotional beings.

These comfortable stories fill in the gaps in our understanding and our imaginations go off the rails. It’s the easy way out, but it is unhelpful.

An unending search for transparency is the only solution. You should regularly step back and reflect, spotting when your mind is running wild with a hero-villain-victim story – but recognition is not enough. You’ll still need to push yourself (and others) to have the tough conversation required to align with others. It takes time to ask questions, consider the responses, and properly debate toward consensus.

Start with Optimism

What’s called out in this article are three very pessimistic views of relationships. There is little good to be found by labeling people in your life as described in this model. But Stephen Karpman created it because we do it time and time again!

In my experience, most people (not all) view themselves as inherently “good.” Most people hope for win-win scenarios. There are times when we happily label ourselves as difficult or mean. Sure. But this normally happens after these stories have run their course in our mind and we feel like our actions are a response to someone else being terrible. We just spiral downhill.

Don’t sabotage your team with these stories. My personal principle is that, until proven otherwise, we should start with believing each person wants others to succeed. Don’t assume you know why someone has said something, instead ask them specifically so they can explain it. Start with trust. Push for transparency.

Mirroring is a Simple Method to Use

The book, “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz, suggests that mirroring people’s words is an easy way to get them to elaborate.

I love this approach! It aligns with my belief that we should be optimistic about someone’s intent and then verify that we understand. Best of all, mirroring is super-easy!

When you are surprised by something said to you, try repeating the words back to the other person. Example:

• Presumed Villain: “I need this by tomorrow, and you haven’t even started on it!”
• You: “You need this by tomorrow?”
• Presumed Villain: “Yes! I’m desperate here!”
• You: “Desperate?”
• Presumed Villain: “Look, it doesn’t have to be perfect, I know this is last minute. What I really need for tomorrow is…”

Can you see how an intense situation is diffused by simple mirroring? The book has other strong suggestions too, I highly recommend reading it.

Conclusion

I hope the Karpman Drama Triangle helps you recognize stories that may be sabotaging you or your team. I’ve shared suggestions on how to fight our natural tendencies by maintaining faith in others and driving for transparency. Give mirroring a try as a quick and easy step toward that goal.

……

If you are looking for a hero partner to fight your villainous competition, reach out to your Perficient account manager or use our contact form to begin a conversation.

Performance Oriented Culture 

A performance-oriented culture in a software development company focuses on achieving high productivity, quality, and speed in delivering software. This culture emphasizes continuous improvement, innovation, and excellence throughout the development process.

One way to cultivate this kind of culture is by aiming for a generative culture, as defined by Dr. Ron Westrum. A sociologist who studied safety-critical complex systems in aviation and healthcare. Dr. Westrum describes a generative culture as one that fosters cooperation, information flow, and innovation. according to him, there are three levels of organizational culture: 

Westrum’s Three Levels of Culture 

Pathological (Power-Oriented) Culture: 

Characteristics: Low cooperation, hidden information, shirked responsibilities, discouraged bridging, punished failure, and crushed novelty. 

Behavior: Organizations at this level focus on personal power, respond to failure with blame, and maintain an atmosphere of fear and secrecy. 

Bureaucratic (Rule-Oriented) Culture: 

Characteristics: Modest cooperation, neglected information, compartmentalized responsibilities, allowed but discouraged bridging, justice-focused failure response, and problematic novelty. 

Behavior: Bureaucratic cultures prioritize adherence to rules and procedures over outcomes. Information flow is restricted by formal channels, and failures prompt a search for responsible individuals rather than systemic improvement. 

Generative (Performance-Oriented) Culture: 

Characteristics: High cooperation actively sought information, shared responsibilities, encouraged bridging, inquiry-focused failure response, and implemented novelty. 

Behavior: Generative cultures emphasize performance and continuous improvement. Information is openly shared, collaboration is the norm, and failures are analyzed to learn and improve. 

Achieving a Generative Culture 

To cultivate a generative culture, organizations should focus on: 

Encouraging Open Communication 

Promote a safe environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas and feedback. 

Example: Google’s “Project Aristotle” found that psychological safety is the key factor in high-performing teams. Google promotes open communication through various channels, ensuring team members feel safe speaking up. 

Empowering Teams 

Give teams the authority and resources to make decisions and take ownership of their work. 

Example: At Amazon, the “two-pizza team” rule ensures that teams are small and autonomous, with the power to make decisions quickly. This structure promotes ownership and accountability. 

Fostering Collaboration 

Break down silos and encourage cross-functional teamwork to solve problems and innovate. 

Example: Spotify’s “squad” model organizes teams into small, cross-functional units that work on specific features or projects. This promotes collaboration and agility. 

Embracing Failure as Learning 

View failures as opportunities to learn and improve, rather than assigning blame. 

Example: Etsy conducts blameless postmortems to analyze failures and learn from them. This practice helps build a culture of trust and continuous improvement.

Seeking Continuous Improvement 

Encourage a mindset of ongoing improvement and adaptation to changing circumstances. 

Example: Teams at Atlassian use the playbook to conduct regular retrospectives, improve their workflows, and address any collaboration challenges. By following the playbook, teams can build stronger relationships and work more effectively together, leading to higher performance and job satisfaction. 

Conclusion 

A performance-oriented culture is essential for achieving high productivity, quality, and speed in software development. Organizations can foster an environment of collaboration, continuous learning, and innovation by implementing strategies to create a generative culture. Encouraging open communication, empowering teams, fostering collaboration, embracing failure as learning, and investing in professional development are key to building a high-performing and resilient organization. 

Perficient promotes a high-performance culture through its Growth for Everyone program, which emphasizes continuous learning, empowerment with essential tools and resources, and leadership development at all levels. By offering structured development pathways like the Consultant Curriculum, Learning to Lead, and Leading with Impact, along with comprehensive toolkits and the Perficient Academy, the company ensures employees have what they need to succeed. This commitment to a people-first, collaborative culture, backed by data-driven decision-making, aligns with the principles of a Performance Oriented Culture showcasing Perficient’s dedication to fostering an environment where every employee can thrive. 

How do You Assess your Company or Project? 

• High Cooperation.​
• Good information Flow.​
• Experimentation embraced or encouraged.​
• Failures are opportunities to improve.​
• Root cause analysis is objective.​
• Responsibilities are discussed in terms of overall risk.​
• Risks are Shared among teams.

Cultural Capabilities Series

• How to Create a Continuous Learning Culture?
• Effective Team Collaboration: Strategies for High Performance and Success
• How Job Satisfaction Boosts Employee Engagement?
• Unlock the Power of Transformational Leadership

References 

• Forsgren, N., Humble, J., & Kim, G. (2018). Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations. IT Revolution Press. 
• Westrum, R. (2014). “A Typology of Organizational Cultures.” Quality & Safety in Health Care, 13(Suppl 2), ii22-ii27. 
• Barr, A. (2020). Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire. Dey Street Books. 
• “Atlassian Team Playbook” – Atlassian 
• “Project Aristotle.” Google Re:Work. 
• “Spotify’s Squad Model.” Spotify Engineering Blog. 
• “Etsy’s Blameless Postmortems.” Blameless Blog.

MORE ON GROWTH FOR EVERYONE 

Perficient continually looks for ways to champion and challenge our workforce, encourage personal and professional growth, and celebrate the unique culture created by the ambitious, brilliant, people-oriented team we have cultivated. These are their stories. 

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient on our Careers page. Connect with us on LinkedIn here. 

Building Genuine Connections in a Global Workplace

In the ever-evolving landscape of the modern workplace, where collaboration often transcends geographical boundaries and time zones, the importance of fostering genuine human connection cannot be overstated. At Perficient, we recognize the value of cultivating a strong sense of community and belonging among our Global Community of colleagues, regardless of their location.

Introducing Coffee Across Time Zones

To this end, we recently hosted “Coffee Across Time Zones,” an innovative event designed to bring together our global workforce for meaningful conversations and shared experiences.

A Simple Yet Effective Concept

The concept behind Coffee Across Time Zones was refreshingly simple yet remarkably effective: gather colleagues from diverse regions and departments in a relaxed, informal setting, much like a casual coffee break. This provided a unique platform for individuals to engage in conversations that extended beyond the confines of work, delving into personal passions, career highlights, aspirations, and insights for both personal and professional growth.

Thought-Provoking Conversation Starters

To facilitate engaging discussions and encourage the exchange of ideas, we curated a series of thought-provoking questions that served as conversation starters:

• What are you passionate about outside of work? Perhaps someone is an avid hiker, a passionate musician, or a dedicated volunteer in their community.
• What is a career achievement you are particularly proud of? This could be a successful project launch, a promotion, or a personal learning milestone.
• If you could switch careers tomorrow, what would you choose and why? This question often reveals hidden dreams and aspirations, sparking interesting conversations about potential career paths.
• What skills or knowledge have been crucial to your career development? This allows colleagues to share valuable insights and advice on professional growth.
• What does work/life balance mean to you? This opens the door to discussions about personal values, priorities, and strategies for maintaining a healthy balance.
• What strategies do you use to stay updated and continue improving in your field? This question can lead to the discovery of new resources, tools, and learning opportunities.
• Who has been your most influential mentor or role model, and what have you learned from them? Sharing stories about mentors and role models can inspire and motivate others.
• How do you make a difference in your work or for your colleagues at Perficient? This question highlights the individual contributions that make our company stronger.

Encouraging Free-Flowing Conversations

While these questions served as a springboard for conversation, participants were encouraged to explore any topic that resonated with them, fostering a free-flowing exchange of ideas and experiences.

The Impact of Coffee Across Time Zones

The impact of Coffee Across Time Zones was undeniable. Colleagues from different corners of the globe forged genuine connections, sharing laughter, stories, and insights. The event transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, creating a shared sense of belonging and camaraderie. Participants left feeling energized, inspired, and more connected to their colleagues than ever before.

Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and Collaboration

At Perficient, we are committed to fostering a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Coffee Across Time Zones exemplifies our dedication to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives.

As we move forward, we will continue to seek innovative ways to connect our global community and build a stronger, more unified Perficient, one coffee at a time.

Providing feedback is essential for driving innovation, improving technical and behavioral skills, and strengthening team dynamics. The EAST methodology (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely) offers a powerful framework for delivering feedback in a way that is more easily received and applied, which can help promote an environment of continuous growth. By applying these principles, individuals can overcome common challenges in feedback communication, transforming interactions into opportunities for personal and professional development. Considering the above, this post explains how each element of the EAST model can be applied to delivering feedback in an organization. For this, specific and applicable examples are proposed, illustrating how this methodology can be effectively implemented.

1. Easy

When giving feedback, it’s important to be clear and decisive about what needs to change or improve. Also, it’s important to specify what actions should be followed, adapting to the needs and contexts of the team.

Examples:

• Implementation of Agile tools: After a retrospective, instead of vague comments like “Let’s improve collaboration,” it proposes: “Let’s use Jira to assign specific tasks after a meeting, ensuring clear follow-up.”
• Specific feedback, not general: Provides concrete examples of behaviors to change. “In yesterday’s meeting, you interrupted a colleague several times. You must allow everyone to express their considerations before giving your opinion.”
• Actionable steps: Break down feedback into small, manageable tasks. “To improve your punctuality, try organizing your tasks the night before and set reminders 10 minutes before each meeting.”

2. Attractive

It’s important to present feedback in a way that captures the attention and interest of the recipient. To do this, it can be positive not only to highlight the benefits that change or improvements would imply for the project, but especially for the individual. Personalizing feedback to align personal interests with project goals increases its perceived value.

Examples:

• Highlight the benefits of change: Explain how the change not only benefits the organization but also the personal growth of the recipient. “Improving your presentation skills will increase your visibility and open up opportunities for leadership roles.”
• Recognition and rewards: Offers tangible or intangible incentives for achieving improvements based on feedback. “If you achieve this sales goal, you will be recognized at the next team meeting.”
• Positive feedback: Includes what they are doing well, not just what they need to improve. “Your ability to close complex deals is impressive, and if you increase your client follow-up, you could exceed your sales goals.”

3. Social

People are influenced by what others do. Suggesting that a behavior is being performed by several colleagues can encourage individuals to also perform it. Likewise, changes can be motivated by making the recipient feel part of a community that values their evolution. Seeing the progress of colleagues and celebrating achievements together strengthens the team’s commitment and motivation.

Examples:

• Accompaniment: Assign someone who has gone through a similar process to the recipient or establish pair programming sessions with a colleague. “Carlos, who significantly improved his time management skills last year, can give you practical advice and support.”
• Share achievements: Encourages sharing achievements related to feedback in team meetings. “When you implement these changes, let’s share your achievements at the next meeting to celebrate your progress.”
• Constructive group feedback: Facilitates sessions where colleagues can offer each other positive and constructive feedback. “We will organize quarterly peer feedback sessions to discuss our progress and challenges.”

4. Timely

Keep in mind that the timing of feedback delivery can make a big difference in how it is received and acted upon. Timeliness ensures relevance and maximizes impact.

Examples:

• After observing behavior: Provide feedback as soon as possible after a relevant event. “After your presentation today, I would like to offer you some points for improvement and highlight what you did well.”
• In moments of openness to change: Take advantage of moments when the person is looking to grow or improve, such as during Sprint retrospectives. “I noticed you’re interested in advancing your career; let’s talk about how we can achieve this together.”
• Before critical events: Offer feedback that can be immediately applied before an important task. “Before your next client presentation, let’s review the key points together to ensure its success.”

Conclusion

This approach recognizes the importance of personalizing feedback, celebrating achievements, fostering community support, and delivering feedback on time. By doing so, we create a culture of continuous feedback where people feel valued and motivated to reach their full potential, benefiting both their personal careers and the company’s objectives.

If you want to read a Spanish version of this you can do it here

MORE ON GROWTH FOR EVERYONE 

Perficient continually looks for ways to champion and challenge our workforce, encourage personal and professional growth, and celebrate the unique culture created by the ambitious, brilliant, people-oriented team we have cultivated. These are their stories. 

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient on our Careers page. Connect with us on LinkedIn here. 

I recently became a mother for the third time, welcoming a beautiful baby girl in July 2023. Stepping into the whirlwind of newborn life with two other children in tow felt like diving headfirst into uncharted waters! Balancing the needs of three young humans has become my daily adventure, filled with equal parts chaos and love.

Motherhood, whether it’s the first or fifth time, is a beautiful yet wildly demanding journey that nearly always involves juggling multiple responsibilities simultaneously. From soothing a newborn’s cries, nursing, washing bottles, tackling never-ending laundry piles, constantly picking up around the house, shuffling the family to and from activities, and searching for the best deals on diapers… mothers face a lengthy list of physically and emotionally demanding chores. In addition to managing these duties at home, over 24 million mothers also participate in the US workforce. In the face of so many conflicting responsibilities, it becomes crucial to prioritize maternal mental health and well-being.

Understanding the Prevalence of Postpartum Depression

One major challenge that new mothers might face is postpartum depression (PPD). This is a serious and widespread condition that affects a reported 10 – 15% of women during their first year after childbirth. Based on these statistics, it’s possible that upwards of 2 million mothers in America alone are battling PPD while also attempting to navigate a return to work. Despite its prevalence, PPD often goes undetected or untreated; even though we have seen a greater understanding of these struggles in recent years, many affected women continue to suffer in silence due to stigma or fear of judgment. A supportive work environment that encourages open communication and understanding can help alleviate some of this stigma, making it easier for mothers to seek the support and resources they need to cope with PPD.

The Impact of Work-Life Balance on Mental Health

We’ve all heard the phrase “work-life balance” so many times that it’s practically a cliché, but trying to find that sweet spot is still crucial. Achieving a healthy equilibrium is such a key component for fostering mental wellness among mothers! Balancing the demands of work with the responsibilities of motherhood can be challenging, leading to overwhelming feelings of stress and exhaustion. The pressure to excel both at home and at work can amplify feelings of inadequacy or guilt, further compromising our state of mind. It can feel a bit like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube while holding your squirming baby – difficult and frustrating, but not impossible with the right support and strategies in place!

Strategies for Balancing Work and Home Life

So how do we create this “supportive work environment,” which enables mothers to successfully tackle these demands? Employers and colleagues play a vital role in fostering a culture of understanding and support, which is a challenge that the Perficient team understands well. Here are some specific strategies that can help contribute to a better balance between work and home life:

1. Flexible Work Arrangements

Perficient offers a range of flexible work arrangements, which are instrumental in meeting the needs of working mothers.  After Ramya Pambi (a member of Perficient’s Sitecore team) welcomed her first child this past year, she noted that having a “fully remote position at Perficient was very helpful as a new mother.”  Alongside remote work options, offering unlimited FTO (Flexible Time Off) allows Perficient to accommodate mothers who may need to adjust their schedules due to familial responsibilities, such as those frequent well-baby check-ups! This flexibility ensures that mothers can prioritize both their work and their family, without sacrificing one for the other.

2. Access to Supportive Resources

In addition to standard benefits, Perficient provides additional specialized resources to support mothers’ well-being.  This includes an Employee Assistance Program (offered by Perficient through ComPsych), which offers free access to emotional support, assistance finding child care, financial resources, and more. Perficient also offers health insurance through United Healthcare, which features online video courses with tips and support for pregnancy and postpartum experiences. Furthermore, Perficient boasts a comprehensive parental leave policy that provides ample time off for bonding with newborns and adjusting to the demands of motherhood. In fact, Perficient recently partnered with Parentaly for a workshop on successfully preparing for parental leave as well as returning to work.

3. Open Communication

Perficient works hard to foster a culture of open communication and support, regularly encouraging all employees (including mothers!) to voice their needs and concerns without fear of judgment. Clear policies and procedures for requesting accommodations help streamline the process and reduce any potential hesitation in seeking support. In relation to this, it becomes equally important to ensure that the burden does not fall solely on the mother’s shoulders, but that managers and colleagues are offered guidance on how to best provide accommodations or adjustments as needed. 

4. Promoting Self-Care

At the risk of dabbling further in clichés, encouraging self-care practices such as regular exercise, adequate sleep (hah!), and mindfulness techniques can help mothers nurture both their physical and mental health. Perficient’s LiveWell Employee Resource Group (ERG) leans into the idea of self-care by providing “a unique opportunity for our colleagues to unite, exchange ideas, and actively participate in wellness activities.” Connecting with peers and sharing experiences is a great way to boost one’s mental well-being!

Raising Awareness and Taking Action

Raising awareness about postpartum depression and the difficulties faced by working mothers is essential to effecting positive change. By fostering flexibility, communication, understanding, and support within workplaces such as Perficient, we can create an environment where every mother feels valued, respected, and empowered to thrive both personally and professionally!

We’ve all heard of servant leadership. The concept of “being a servant” to your teams and treating employees as critical individuals to be cultivated and empowered, has strong merit. However, many organizations fall short, with those at the top of the hierarchy viewing employees as interchangeable cogs in the corporate machine.

Instead of diving deep into the theories, practices, and benefits of servant leadership, I will focus on a specific, related principle or mind-set: being unobtrusive. This can help managers support their teams, clear the path, and improve productivity by stepping out of the way as much as possible. Then I’ll provide five obtrusive blockers to avoid as a servant leader or manager.

Being Unobtrusive as a Servant Leader

The principle at play here is that managers, leaders, and business owners realize the importance of individual contributors’ time. The leader’s position can help reduce unnecessary load and help the employee focus on top priority business objectives.

Deloitte reported in 2017 that payroll accounts for 50-60% of Fortune 500 spending. With that, it seems obvious to realize that leaders should help maximize the time of their employees. The opposite side of that suggests that you should remove as much redundancy and unnecessary cognitive load on them as you can.

Reduction of obtrusiveness can be in all areas: technically, procedurally, managerially, and even within the set expectations for the individual. It applies everywhere.

Falling in Love with the Concept of Unobtrusiveness

In the early 2000s, while studying design and web development, I learned to love unobtrusive practices. “Unobtrusive JavaScript” meant separating interactive code from static HTML, avoiding cluttered event attributes like “onclick” and “onmouseover” throughout the code. With dynamic, data-driven sites, we also had query string variables which made URLs longer and less readable. Now, some sites are using URL rewriting practices for “pretty URLs” that are cleaner and unobtrusive to us humans who use and share them.

As I then transitioned into manager and director roles focused on digital sales and marketing, I became further convinced of the power of being unobtrusive. Tracking conversion rates for sales and marketing initiatives showed a clear incentive. Our team used data to convince clients to step away from ego-centric approaches of what the company wanted, and instead help them realize that some of that was unimportant and prevented prospects from becoming paying customers. The customers had their goals, and they just want everything else to get out of their way.

In all cases, the customer just wants their experience to be unobtrusive. Everyone prefers unobtrusive! For the love of all that is holy, don’t make them read their account number after already typing it into the phone system!

Five Obtrusive Blockers

There are several types of things that leaders often impose on teams that can kill the productivity of the team. As a servant leader and good steward of the time being used by your team, it is best to avoid these types of mental drains.

1. Micromanagement – When I interview potential candidates, I ask them what the main thing is that they want to avoid in a new role. Across the board, people always say they don’t want to be micromanaged. It’s obtrusive. For managers that feel it is necessary, you are likely avoiding a tough conversation that needs to be had.
2. Lack of Clear Goals – Not giving your team clear goals is a sure-fire way to cause rework. It is demoralizing to them if they try to address what they think you want, only to be told that they got it wrong. Don’t put it on them to read your mind, instead consider a strong North Star Goal.
3. Poor Communication – You’ve seen it before. You ask three questions in an email and the reply back answers only one. Don’t do that to your team. I tend to over-communicate. I once offended a business partner because they felt like I shouldn’t have to explain everything in detail to them. For me, I view it as removing ambiguity and adding detail for posterity. If one of my emails is forwarded to someone who isn’t familiar with the topic, it should be clear to them too.
4. Inflexible Policies – HR departments do their best to provide meaningful policies that protect the employees as well as the company. It’s a tough thing to get right. As a manager, you probably have some “policies” of your own. Just be aware that countless hours can be spent by the employee at home and at work fretting about their interpretation of the policy and how it affects their unique situation. All that time and cognitive load is wasted before they even mention their concern to you.
5. Menial Tasks – “Busy work” is rampant in businesses. Not just assigned busy work, but the little menial tasks you assign your team members that you might not even realize. Have you ever sent someone a list of dates and times and failed to convert them to the recipient’s time zone? Or maybe a list of tickets logged in your work management system, but you gave them ticket numbers without linking to the ticket detail page? You are micro-assigning obtrusive tasks to others.

The Benefits of Being an Unobtrusive Manager

I know… You’ve read this article and are thinking, “Great idea, but I don’t have time to do anything more than I already do.” Yes, being unobtrusive to others means you have to take on that effort yourself. Just like in our digital projects, making something “easy” for the user takes a whole hell of a lot of effort for the rest of us. We don’t attain excellence by taking the shortest path.

This is an exercise in empathy and understanding. If you want to clear the path for your team, then you must make the effort yourself. The good news is that there is direct benefit in doing so.

Your goal is to complete projects on time, within budget, and (hopefully) exceeding expectations. You have a team with varying levels of expertise, different personalities, and certainly some who are more diligent than others. By taking a little more time yourself, as a servant leader, you can collectively save the rest of the team an untold amount of cognitive load. This can keep others focused on the important work they are assigned and even prevent errors before they happen.

Conclusion

Being a servant leader is a wonderful thing to strive for. No doubt you want to help others be their best, and to make a difference within your organization. As part of that journey, I encourage you to try to watch out for those obtrusive blockers that can slow your team down. Some are large, some are very small, but the goal is to get things out of the way of the team so they can avoid stumbling and simply do great work!

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If you are looking for a partner who can help remove obstructions for your team, reach out to your Perficient account manager or use our contact form to begin a conversation.

If you were to pop open any social media platform or news app right now and scroll through a couple dozen posts, you’ll easily get the feeling that everything is #%&$ falling apart. Everyone is mad at something. We now use the term “doomscrolling.” In the past we had Yellow Journalism and we are there once again. As humans we tend to get addicted to outrage and drama. Health.com says that it comes from a desire to stay informed and protect ourselves from dangerous situations.

We also have “trolling” which feeds on different types of addictive behaviors. We like to feel superior, release our own outrage, be the main character…and sometimes…we just like to cause mayhem and watch it all burn! While doomscrolling, you see things you don’t @#?&! like, and you have a nagging feeling to hop in and troll those you disagree with – even though you really don’t #%&$ need to.

Here’s the thing though… Most of what we see that’s irritating to us is just misdirected outrage. It’s all poorly focused anger and lacking true intent to further the discussion. We consume content meant to tear down rather than progress. We’ve all forgotten what true debate looks like, and instead want to @#?&! dunk on each other with one-liners and memes. #%&$, most of us don’t even fully read the clickbait articles with the headlines that upset us so much. We prefer to live in our echo-chambers of self-gratification. It seems to only be getting worse. But remember, we didn’t start the fire.

!&%#$ People. Amirite?

Emotions are the toughest aspect of people. Our feelings don’t have to be logical for them to be experienced and affect our behavior and decisions. We all tend to want grace and forgiveness when our own emotions go off the rails, but we don’t always grant the same leeway to others. I guess we believe other people are just @#?&! idiots.

Stoicism favors the absence of emotions. I lean heavily toward stoic concepts, easily removing emotion from situations. It serves me well in my project, account, and people management roles. I certainly don’t expect others to do the same – that wouldn’t be fair to them.

Being emotionless can go too far though. I rarely show it when I get upset unless you are seriously hurting me or those I love. My wife jokes that I’ll end up like Adam Sandler’s character in Anger Management, where one day I’ll just #%&$ explode. I guess it’s natural that I politely disagree with that.

@%#$! Positivity

Toxic positivity can be just as bad as misdirected outrage – two ends of a spectrum and neither is good. Somewhere along the line, we started learning that it was bad to have strong emotions, especially at work. You can get labeled a #%&$, @#?&!, or even an !&%#$ if you are visibly upset. Or if you’re a push-over and never disagree they might call you a %@$#!

From learning to mask emotions, we lost our backbone. We became fearful of causing other people’s anger. We have learned to avoid tough conversations, though we shouldn’t! The truth is that emotions are not always logical. We want to be able to control other people’s emotions, but we simply cannot. At the same time, we do not need to be responsible for other people’s emotions. Their emotions are for them to manage. We can only control our own reaction and response. Sometimes doing the right thing will upset someone else. That’s OK. We each must manage ourselves and accept the consequences if there are any.

I love the quote, “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.” Having conviction is a good thing. Standing up for what you know is right, is a great thing! Being authentic but then allowing others room to be upset is good. Radical transparency is helpful. We should all strive to stop #%&$ lying to ourselves.

Harnessing this %#@!$

When emotions run high, we start to see some foul language creep in. But there’s no need to shy away from that. Several researchers have devoted their studies to understanding the power of cursing. One group in 2020 focused on how swearing can alleviate pain. The Harvard Business Review (2018) and the BBC (2016), as well as others, have spun off articles on similar research saying that business managers can be more effective when they use bad words from time to time.

Raw emotion draws attention. People follow passionate leaders. Being completely colorless and safe will grind excitement to a halt. We want to gain the benefit of true energy in our companies and projects. Rallying the troops doesn’t come from the status quo, it comes from a place of emotion – and emotion is not always logical.

As I mentioned before, I’m largely stoic – reason and logic resonate with me. Anger often feels misdirected and counterproductive. But outrage does not have to be negative! Passion for a north star goal, is something I absolutely love! And when your team gets passionate, they will get excited, they will blurt out #%&$ productive expletives in their disagreements! And that’s OK! Disagreements are great, they should be encouraged more.

When it %#@!$ Works

Benefiting from this type of passion and energy is more straightforward than it seems. We’re all just afraid of using it. But we gravitate to leaders, politicians, comedians, and friends who know how to use it well.

Misdirected outrage is where things go wrong. Like if you’re angry at a person you need to work with, or you’re faking emotion for sensationalism. If you’re outright mean to a family member. If you snap at an individual because of something else that puts you in a bad mood and has nothing to do with them. This builds contention and resentment.

Focused outrage is different. You’re upset at the current state of things. You know something can be better, and you’re passionate about getting others equally upset about it. You’ve had enough, and things are going to @#?&! change! You can live in this emotional territory and still be respectful to individuals. Mutual respect and a mutual goal are key factors in being able to debate a topic and use it as a catalyst.

Conclusion

I chose to write this article after a couple of back-to-back business meetings where an attendee let loose a curse word and immediately apologized for it. In both cases, the others quickly hopped in to say it was OK. In one case, they said, “You’re my type of person!” From there, the attitude of the meetings became less buttoned up and people laughed.

This is a case in point that some foul language can be productive. There was no disrespect in the use of such language and emotion, instead, it was a simple approach to bring passion into the discussion.

Even though we see misguided outrage and arguing all over the news and media, it doesn’t have to be the kind we see getting promoted by the algorithms. Instead, try to embrace constructive disagreement, allow for debate, and let a few %@$#! curse words fly to show your passion! Just do it with mutual respect for the people you are talking to.

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If you are #%&$ fed up with the current trends and ready to focus some rage in the right direction, reach out to your Perficient account manager or use our contact form to begin a conversation.