#2 The #1 thing killing your salon culture
Learn to recognize it and revive your salon culture ASAP!
I’ll come right out at say it:
The #1 thing killing your salon culture is: Complaining.
Think about the complaints you've heard from your team recently or even the complaints you've made.
Are you currently buying into any complaints you’ve heard and allowed them to become a belief? These usually start with "she never..." or "they always..."
Do you find yourself avoiding conversations with your team because you don't want to seem nit-picky? These are moments when a neutral situation needs to be addressed or corrected.
As leaders, it's important we recognize the difference between a complaint and a conversation that informs so we're able to protect how we and our team feel about the culture of the salon.
Let’s examine the difference between a complaint and giving information (or informing)
Letting a stylist know there's hair around her station and asking her to sweep it up isn't complaining it's informing.
But going home to your husband and nagging about how no one ever cleans up after themselves is complaining.
Here’s another example: One of your stylists comes to you and tells you her book is still open on a Saturday she's already been approved to have off. She asks if you can take a look at it. She's informing you of an error and is wanting to fix it.
But let's say instead of coming to you directly, you overhear her gossiping about it in the break room to the girl on the front desk. She's complaining to someone who has no power to make it right.
Remember: there's nothing wrong with making someone aware of something that wasn't done or needs to be made better, even if it's our team bringing us into awareness.
What kills culture is when there's more complaining than informing because complaining brings no awareness or solution.
Ways you can revive your salon culture from toxic complaining
A recent Forbes article listed the following 7 ways to cut workplace complaining:
Say no to complaining - another article recommends implementing a culture of Inform, Encourage & Inspire
Stop (accidentally) asking for perfectionism
Keep competition friendly
Ask your team how you can support them
Clarify priorities (not everything is a priority)
Always focus on the opportunity - demonstrate how you as the salon leader can take a complaining moment and turn it into an inspirational moment instead
Show genuine appreciation
