By Tommy Greer
In the winter newsletter we looked at what is culture and why it is a leader’s #1 responsibility. So now let’s look at how you create and maintain a healthy culture.
Hiring the right people
It all starts with getting the right people on the bus, as Jim Collins would say. The more people are like-minded when it comes to culture the more successful you will be.
If half the battle is “buy-in,” let’s at least start with people who have the same principles, moral foundation, and beliefs. Trust me, this removes many problems right off the bat.
Look for people with positive attitudes; no one enjoys being around people that have negative attitudes. These people bring others around them down and can quickly sour the whole organization.
People will mess up, miss the target and sometimes completely drop the ball, but the more people you have working towards the same goal, in this case a healthy, vibrant culture, the overall team will still succeed. It’s called picking each other up!
“Like-minded” does not mean “the same” though, while we make up one team, we are all gifted differently and many times it takes another person’s strengths to make up for my weaknesses. When we work with this mindset and appreciate and encourage one another, the whole team wins.
How you treat them
Goals are always better than rules – A successful organization has organizational goals that are clearly communicated and then individual goals that contribute towards the overall success. If this is done well, less rules are then needed. People usually work better in this environment than one heavy laden with rules and are typically happier.
Invest in your people – Whether it is ongoing training that makes them better, or providing the best technology and equipment to help them do their job, both are important to making people feel valued.
Be responsive to the needs of your employees – anything that aids in a healthier work/life balance contributes to a better culture. Flex time, part time, work from home options, ability to go to child’s soccer game are all appreciated by your employees.
Show appreciation throughout the organization – most of the time people view this as top-down only, but the most successful cultures show appreciation to each other up, down and sideways, across departments, locations, etc. Many times the simplest but most powerful form of this is in our words either spoken or written.
Have fun – celebrating successes and having a relaxed atmosphere are very important.
Leaders modeling the type of culture that is wanted
Culture is shaped mostly by how your leaders act. Is teamwork being modeled? Is integrity being shown in all situations? Are leaders maintaining positive attitudes when facing adversity? Are leaders truly caring and investing in others? Are leaders having fun and celebrating successes or just moving on to the next challenge? All tough questions but ones we must each ask ourselves as leaders if we truly want to build a winning culture!