5 elements to build a Culture of Sustainability

[Culture is greater than Strategy | Part 2 of 2]
Read Part 1 of 1 here

One of the most challenging tasks in the current world is to find a leader who does not bother about the culture in their team. But, all of us have that one (or more) friend who is constantly cribbing about the Manager and the culture at their workplace.
There seems to be a gap between the intent of building a culture and the act of building one. The gap between intention and action is often the lack of know-how of building culture. In this piece, I will highlight 5 key elements that can help you build a strong culture within your team (or organisation). These elements are not to be confused with tools to build a strong culture.

Expectations

The primary factor that drives culture in the organisation is expectations. What you expect from your team and how you communicate these expectations to the team are key to building a culture of sustainability. It is very important to ensure that every team members knows what is expected of them and what is not.
Do Now — Spend the next 15 minutes jotting down all your expectations from your team.

Opportunities and Spaces

Once the expectations are in place it is important to ensure that all our team members have ample opportunities to operate with the set expectations and spaces to deepen/correct/challenge the culture and the expectations. We also need to ensure that we keep sharing the expectations in every space we create, and call out the hits and misses.
Think — When was the last time when you created a space or an opportunity for your team to share about culture and expectations?

Modeling

As a Manager/Coach/Team Lead (or whatever) it is your responsibility to build a culture within your team and the organisation. One of the easiest (in the long run) and the most effective way of building a sustainable culture is by modeling. Modeling involves surfacing your interpretation of the expectations and hence allows the team to deepen/correct/challenge the expectations. Each of these three things will actually help in creating a positive culture in the workplace.
Commit to — Realigning one of your personal habits that you feel is a major hurdle on your way to building a culture of sustainability.

Focusing on the small things

Culture is often an amalgamation of several small things that you do or do not do. It is never the outcome of one big action.
Ensure that you sweat out the small things (like sending the agenda 48 hours prior to the meeting, saying your thank yous and expressing gratitude). These small things make all the difference.
Practice — Over the next 10 days find a reason to say thank you to everyone at your workplace and home.

Language

Our language often surfaces the truths and beliefs of our system. It also has the power to guide our truths and beliefs. Hence choosing an appropriate word or framing the sentence in an appropriate way becomes very important.
Tip— Guide your language by listening wholly and operating from a space of curiosity, try to co-create recommendations and do not jump to conclusions (via assumptions).

I hope these elements help you build a culture of sustainability in your workplace. I would also love to hear your thoughts on building a Culture of Sustainability, so share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thank you.