Learn from Millennials: 6 Tips to Fuel Organizational Culture
For a year I’ve lead a group of 100 volunteers who cumulatively put in more than 20,000 hours to deliver leadership opportunities to young people. Beyond doubt they have completed the same daily tasks as any product manager, sale person or customer representative. They’re evaluated in the same way, by measuring goals, KPIs and revenues, yet they drive incredible growth without any monetary incentive.
What fuels that drive? The power of culture.
I made a list of six things that have helped me build team and organizational culture and led to better results and happier people!
1. Have fun!
Dance. Share. Make friends.
“This is the first conference I’m attending that starts with a dance. What amazing energy!” said Lee-Anne McAlear, Program Director at The Centre of Excellence in Innovation Management at Schulich School of Business, when we kicked off a national conference with over 350 delegates by dancing to a top 40 pop song. Dancing shows the fun, creative and accepting culture we promote. More than that, dancing brings down any cultural or linguistic barriers and there is nothing more powerful than 700 people dancing to one song at international conferences.
2. Connect
Grow Support Networks.
We organize conferences, weekend-long summits or Alumni events to connect like-minded members and foster a culture of sharing and celebration. Even better, stories motivate people and human connections strenghen collaboraiton and unity within large organizations.
3. Give Back
Invest in Personal Development.
We want our members to grow: to become better specialists, public speakers, leaders or simply better people. From in-house workshops to external conferences and training events, we help our members become better versions of themselves.
4. Reward & Recognize
Praise effort, not only achievements.
We recognize and reward those who drive culture, performance and growth. From a simple shoutout in weekly newsletters, to perks like conference subsidies or access to special mentors, we reinforce the behaviors we want others to emulate.
5. Empower
Spark passion. Give power.
We give teams the space and resources to find solutions and take leadership in implementing them. People are much more passionate and invested in the projects they create and drive. Members join the projects they are most passionate about, preferably outside their own teams, to create more cross-team bonds.
6. Lead By Example.
Be a better YOU for your organization.
The fascinating aspect of AIESEC is that we change the entire leadership team every year. Having seen the organization under 3 differed leaders, I can confidently say that organizational culture is a mirror of its leader. By recruiting people that are like-minded and by carefully allocating where you spend your time — you set the tone for everyone else. Finally, by becoming a better person you become a better leader for your organization.
More and more job seekers ask about culture before they ask about salary. Justified so. We spend more than a third of our lives working, so why not focus on delivering amazing experiences not only to our customers, but also to our talent.
