Your Culture…It’s a Mess
“Every company has a culture. For many, it’s probably not the one they want.” — Piyush Patel
Culture, a word thrown around as reckless as L-O-V-E. CEO’s and leaders often strive to “create a culture” in attempt to wrangle hotshots or to attract this bright new wave of millenials who grew up learning life lessons from the warm pixel glow of YouTube. The trouble is…they already have a culture. They may just not want it.
Let’s face it, if you’re reading articles about fixing your culture, yours is likely a mess. A chaotic and stressful environment your employees flee from as fast as 5pm can arrive. The good news is we don’t have to always sleep in the bed we made. We can change the sheets.
I’ll take Culture for $100, Alex
To set the record straight, the word culture is neutral without context. Culture is simply behavior maintained through a situation or environment. What we all want is a good culture.
That all starts with the leader. When a leader expects the utmost of their team, yet lack respect and empathy, they establish a negative tone for the culture through their own actions. When values are absent, unclear, or simply ignored, it’s time to step back and reevaluate who we are as a company and what we will and won’t do. In other words, nobody wants to work for an asshole.
1. Listen, You Smell Something?
In order to create a culture of respect, be prepared as a leader to show it to your team. The simple way to do this is to shut up and listen. Easier said than done, right?. Leaders tell people what to do, they guide, influence and make choices that affect others. How the hell are they expected to be quiet and let their people speak? It’s tough, really tough. Until it’s not.
A beautiful thing happens when you give people a platform to speak their thoughts. They begin to trust you.
“During a conversation, listening is as powerful as loving.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words
You have to really listen, not just wait to reply. A good leader will listen for understanding, and because they care about the person and their message.
2. We Belong to the Night, We Belong to the Thunder
Now that you have that song in your head, we have a soundtrack for our next topic. Belonging, affirmation and meaning…AKA the top 3 of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Everyone wants to feel a sense of belonging, of purpose.
