Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, How Do I Create the Greatest Culture of Them All?
Why do companies pay so little attention to their culture?
Do they think it is organic and cannot be influenced? Or, is their culture defined by their industry and the type of people who are employed within?
From management teams to vision and mission statements, these tools are used to INFLUENCE the people within our corporate culture. But often times, these things can have a negative impact if not managed correctly.
Money, title, corporate perks and power are used to STIMULATE the people in our corporate culture, but often leave them feeling empty and longing for something more.
What organizations often fail to do is to ENGAGE the people in their culture!
According to GALLUP.com, nearly 70% of people are disengaged at work. Wow!
How is that for culture?
So what is missing? How can 70% of people be disengaged at work if all of these companies have such a great culture? The reason is simply because they are PEOPLE!
For those of you who need a refresher, culture is defined as “a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization (such as a business).”
The definition may sound simple, but it’s missing the key ingredient to every successful company— people. People have independent thoughts and unique experiences that influence their lives both professionally and personally. People are our culture. Their thoughts and experiences define how they “think, behave, or work and exist in a place or organization.”
Every day, we sit in meetings and look at charts and graphs trying to determine how to advance our companies when the answer is just outside of the boardroom door. In order to achieve success, a company or organization must have an engaging culture. Patrick Whitesell, Co-CEO of WME, believes a company’s culture takes top priority, "You can have all the right strategy in the world; if you don’t have the right culture, you’re dead."
Creating the right culture is imperative to the success of your organization. Your company’s culture is one of the single most influential aspects on peoples’ lives, including their fears and desires. The right culture creates a sense of belonging, identity, and purpose.
So how do you create the right culture?
One word - commit. Commit your strategy, principles, mission and vision to creating a culture where your employees are engaged. Commit your leadership to helping and empowering the people you employ. Commit to your people, and they will commit to you. John Coleman wrote for Harvard Business Review that “If an organization professes, “people are our greatest asset,” it should also be ready to invest in people in visible ways.” Commit to people, and they will commit to the company. Remember, culture is a way of thinking, behaving, or working.
What are you doing to create a culture of thinking, behaving, or working?
Like any other goal you want to achieve, you must create a strategic plan that is devoted to cultivating the right culture. Your strategic plan needs to ensure that it is evenly balanced and aligned with the goals of the company as well as be clear and measurable on all levels of the organization. Accountability is another key aspect of your strategic plan. People within an organization need to be committed to the organizational culture and charged with holding each other accountable for adhering to the established culture.
Your cultural strategy needs to stay focused on the people who will be thinking, behaving, or working to achieve the cultural goals written in the strategic plan. Often a company’s culture will be defined by an executive of the company in a grand statement or proclamation of “We have a culture of ….” It’s a great way to set the tone of your company and get everyone to rally around the same goal, but is the proclamation being practiced? How do we measure the commitment to this goal? It is unlikely that your executive is dedicating time to ensure everyone is adhering to the cultural mission statement.
So…who is going to create your culture?
It starts with the people that make up the company. The people on the ground have the greatest influence on the productivity and culture of the company. Leadership also has a part in the creation of a great culture. The executive leadership needs to start engaging with their people; the ones who are committed to helping your organization flourish and excel past its competitors. Executive leadership can greatly influence a person’s engagement in the working environment. A simple conversation about a person’s personal life or a public acknowledgement of job well done doesn’t cost the company anything, but to that person it is everything!
A company’s culture cannot be contained in a presentation on the top floor of the office building. It has to be cultivated and shared throughout your organization. Every building, every cubicle, every break room and every office should reflect the culture of your company and what it wants to achieve.
Changing or creating the right culture cannot be achieved just because we desire the change. Cultural change happens when a company transforms their way of engaging their people— when the culture reflects the people that are thinking, behaving, or working in your place or organization every day.
There is a cemented plaque in front of a museum proudly states, “A NATIONS STAYS ALIVE WHEN ITS CULTURE STAYS ALIVE.”
You could even re-phrase it by saying, A COMPANY STAYS ALIVE WHEN ITS CULTURE STAYS ALIVE. Feed your organizational culture to keep it alive and viable. People need to be empowered and a company can accomplish this by re-focusing and creating the right culture for its people. Thus, leaving them to achieve outstanding results by thinking, behaving, or working in a place or organization.
