Culture culture culture. It's another buzz concept in business, right up there with core values. Everyone either wants it, or touts that they have it and tries to prove it. Even more so, everyone that says they have a culture thinks it's because they do fun things with their employees, like scavenger hunts and other little games. Culture is more than the warm and fuzzy that people make it out to be. It is a living, breathing tool that can either push your company out above the pack, or one that can leave you mired in mediocrity. Regardless if they say they have a culture or not, the chances are they do have a culture, but it's one that's been created in spite of their efforts to control it, not because of them.With that in mind, we need to get to the heart of how culture is formed, in order to understand how to use it to be your strength, not your crutch.
Company culture is formed one of two ways: intentionally or unintentionally. If you're going to talk about culture, you've got to be able to define it first. Culture, as defined by a mentor of mine, is the context in which the organization occurs for individuals within the company. Now, not to get all metaphysical on you, but how does an organization occur for someone? A lot of it comes back to the experience itself. An experience is formed by the following areas:
1. Interpersonal interactions (peer to peer)
2. Supervisor-employee interactions
3. Work load
4. Work ethic
5. Work environment/conditions
Let's talk about all these different areas, and how they affect the experience that creates the culture within the organization.
How your employees treat one another is a big deal when it comes to shaping an employee experience. If you want people to feel they work in a company that promotes team first, not me first, lateral conversations will be the first indicator of how often that is happening. Remember that this starts at the top, so team C suite, step your game up. Are you communicating with your peers in a respectful manner? Respectfully doesn't just mean being cordial, but also having disagreements in a healthy way. Healthy, meaning you don't get upset and storm out of the room when you're not seeing eye to eye. Healthy, meaning you know there's a line that you can't cross, and so you never cross it. Can you laugh and joke, and yet at the same time be professional when the time calls for it?
These are all major indicators of the interpersonal experience you create for your workplace. Respectful dialogue is so often overlooked, because it seems so self explanatory, that everyone should do it. The key word is should. I have been in executive meeting rooms where people just say whatever comes to mind, respectful or not. Don't forget, everyone is a person, with lines and barriers that you don't cross, and if you do, realize that you could destroy the relationship for good. If you want a culture where your employees respect each other, make sure your executives do first. Secondly, if you want to be extra careful, think about a little document titled "conditions of communication and satisfaction". Create accountability through clarity, and people will know where the line is...you spelled it out for them!
.JPG) |
| These days are over! |
On one hand, how lateral conversations between peers take place will tell you a lot about the culture you're creating. However, another relationship goes an even longer way in defining what your culture looks like, because it has to exist in order to create some form of organizational hierarchy: supervisor-employee. This relationship is time old in existence, and sometimes time old in practice. Supervisor right, employee wrong. Supervisor good, employee bad. Even when the shoe is on the other foot in reality, it really isn't. Why? Because he/she is the boss, and the other guy isn't. I'm here to tell you today that if you live by this mantra, your best talent will leave you in a heartbeat, and your culture will be one of fear, not respect.
Supervisors, the time of always being right is over. With a generation of young thinkers joining the workforce, we have to be mindful of what they bring to the table and what they are capable of in the long run. Nurture, not nature. Coach, not reprimand. Expect that employees will make mistakes. Supervisors, you do too. This is human nature. How supervisors handle failure will go a long way in determining who stays and who goes. The transformational concept of correcting and learning from mistakes is really not so transformational. Simply put, do not let your team be afraid to fail. Failure is not acceptable, and must be corrected, but failure does not mean you are dead in the water and should look for a new job. Supervisors used to be able to get away with berating their employees, talking down to their employees, and looking at them as second class citizens. If you want to develop a workforce and a relationship with your team, where they will run through walls for you, then encourage them in spite of their failures. How you treat them when they're at their worst will determine if you'll always get their best. Culture forms from these interactions more than almost any other, because it is the most natural of relationships. Get this right, and your chances to get your culture right exponentially increase.
Alright everyone. Well this is a pretty big topic, so we're going to split it up over two or three posts. It's holiday season, so stay warm, eat well, and laugh a lot!
Stay inspired, be developed, be the change!
~AI
No comments:
Post a Comment