Throughout my career, I have had countless conversations about company culture. And most of those conversations get down to general dissatisfaction with the culture that is established.
Employees complain about company decisions and their leaders. In turn, leaders complain about how employees behave. At that point, dysfunction sets in and no one is happy anymore.
Have it for long enough, and it will start weighing down on everybody. Eventually, some will leave, disappointed with how things work, and those who stay will continue to voice their concerns. The negativity spiral sets in and very few will be able to recommend the company as a nice place to work. This in turn, hinders the ability of companies to grow and hire great employees.
Sounds familiar?
This is clearly not desirable. So how do we prevent this? How can we establish a positive compounding effect on company culture? How do we turn the ship around?
To me, the answer starts in front of a mirror.
What is company culture anyway?
Some might say company culture is a reflection of its core values. Others might say it’s to do with the people you hire, how you design your office space, and even how your incentives are structured. Those are probably components of it, but not everything.
Which is why I prefer to see company culture as a mirror on us – its leaders.
It’s a reflection of how we lead, how we communicate, how we behave, and how we treat our customers and employees.
Behaviours don’t reflect the personality, but situations.
Daniel Kahneman, psychologist and economist, interviewed for The Knowledge Project
It’s somehow easier to blame issues on others, but more often than not it starts with us. Assume positive intent and dig deep into the issues you see. Apply second-order thinking and understand what is really going on.
Motivation is complex. People do things for a mixture of good and bad reasons. Be more patient and have more empathy. Being judgemental doesn’t get you anywhere.
Daniel Kahneman, psychologist and economist, interviewed for The Knowledge Project
If, for a minute, we stop being judgemental, and look at the circumstances that led people to exhibit behaviours we don’t like, we will start seeing the root cause of our problems.
And more often than not, those problems were caused by us, leaders, and the decisions we made over time.
Setting a company up for success
Enough about the issues now. How do we move from a bad culture into a good culture? How do we set our company up for success?
Again, we have to look inside us and be the change we want to see.
It starts from the top and then trickles down. We as leaders have a responsibility to demonstrate the beliefs of the company and reinforce the behaviours that reflect those values.
A company’s culture is shaped by a lot of things, but this is one of the most important: you have to convey your priorities clearly and repeatedly.
Robert Iger in The Ride of a Lifetime
What our priorities are, how we behave, during good and bad times, how we communicate, how we act, and how we make decisions all impact culture. Be very deliberate in all of it, and the culture around you will change.
One thing rings true to me above all else: the people we employ are the brand and culture matters for long-term, sustainable success.
But culture doesn’t exist only to benefit organizations. Culture must always benefit both employees and the company.
Forgetting one side of that coin will get us back at where we started in this article.
So next time you see issues with your company culture, ask yourself: what is your culture saying about your leadership style? How is it impacting your people and your customers?
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