Does your company culture have a deferring problem? While deferring is often associated with civility, an over-deferring culture can hold teams back. Being deferential is a trait that can have both positive and negative effects. The plus side is that deferring fosters harmony and unity. The downside is that team members can slip into passivity. Here’s what you need to know to avoid the over-deferring trap.

Being Too Deferential: What Does It Mean?

Deferring means submitting to others in the workplace, often the authority figures or superiors at hand. In organizations, this generally means letting the manager or team leader have the final say. In highly deferential company cultures, whatever a strong personality says goes. 

There’s no question that having an established “chain of command” is essential in corporate settings. When leadership has its ducks in a row, team members feel more secure and confident in their roles. However, high deferring within a team means that team members may be too afraid to voice their opinions or challenge an idea or opinion. The result is a creativity and innovation desert.

What are some signs of high deferring in a corporate team? While deferring isn’t inherently negative, it can be one of the most insidious aspects of company culture when it results from poor management. Here are some signs that your company culture is suffering from high deferring:

• Team members can express opinions in a way that overpowers others.
• Management-driven projects and initiatives are failing due to lack of scrutiny.
• There is a lack of accountability.
• Employee-driven innovations are infrequent.
• Employees leave without first voicing concerns or giving indications of unhappiness.



High deferring is oftentimes a confidence issue. Deferring becomes toxic when it is driven by a lack of confidence among leadership. Managers need to have the self-confidence to be able to listen to opposing views and concerns. In turn, employees will have the self-confidence to communicate when they see a bad idea speeding down the road toward them!

Create a More Assertive, Connected Workforce

The journey to fostering these traits starts with getting a measurement of current deferring levels. This isn’t something that can be measured using standard HR personality tests or employee satisfaction surveys. After all, employees who rank highly in deferring are likely to hold back on surveys to avoid the risk of being seen as complaining or criticizing!

It’s also important to see how deferring levels within your organization sync up with other core traits. That’s why Teamalytics developed team assessments that rank core leadership areas that include deferring, criticality, and a dozen other traits. Once you’ve established that deferring is too high, it’s important to implement policies that lower deferring without inviting chaos. These strategies include:

• Train managers on how to respectfully receive feedback or differing opinions.
• Make feedback “part of the journey” when establishing or launching new projects.
• Have “pitch” events that invite employees to bring their best ideas forward.
• Create specific channels for voicing concerns.
• Make employees feel like they have a stake in the success of projects by inviting them to provide input and insights.

Teamalytics recently put together a free e-book that addresses all of the obstacles to having an engaged workforce in today’s complex culture.Download and read “Creating Cutting Edge Company Culture In A Work From Home World” to learn how to foster the traits that create dynamic workplaces.