What causes a business to fail, to face more hurdles and costs than necessary, and to miss growth targets even when their business model is a sound path to success? In more cases than not, it comes down to company culture. It’s about the practices, traditions, and attitudes that define how people work, how well they’re invested, and why they’re there in the first place. So, how do you create a great company culture?
Define what’s essential
What do you want out of your company culture? It’s easy to talk about a culture of engagement, accountability, responsibility, and wellbeing. However, it’s more effective to actually define and understand what you want. Or rather, what you want to avoid. Look at the red flags of toxic workplace culture, as exemplified by Recruiter. It’s easy to see what can cause things like absenteeism, hyper-competitiveness, and a lack of trust. What you want to create is the opposite of that.
Lead by example
You can’t simply tell people what you want from them and expect things to change. It’s essential that you show true leadership and pave the path, yourself. If you want your team to be more accountable and admit mistakes, you must take fault for company-wide failings rather than blaming your staff. If you want them to be engaged in their work, you have to be interested and know what they contribute, too. Don’t just “talk the talk but don’t walk the walk”. Employees will see this and begin to display the same attitude and behaviors.
Invest in your team
For your team to care about what kind of company culture you’re trying to create, they have to care about the company. Unfortunately, afterwhile, many employees lose sight and no longer care. It’s often not because of anything they have done. In many businesses, the staff is underappreciated, under-recognized, and under-rewarded. Taking the time to recognize them and reward them with systems like Surprise HR. Invest in training for them, set goals and create development plans. This will show you care and are truly invested in them. They will feel like part of a team, instead of a cog in a machine. They will embrace the vision of the company and begin to act like they have something to gain from helping you build a better organization.
It’s a conversation, not a mandate
You have your desires for what you want your company culture to look like, but your team members might have their own ideas. You could benefit from perspectives that are closer to the ground, where the work is actually being done. Your team is more likely to follow the example you set if they have a hand in crafting it as well. The authority is yours, but the motivation is theirs (if it’s there). Solicit their feedback and get them involved in the conversation.
It might sound new age to some, but the truth is, company culture is a vital component to the success of your business. A bad example set by misguided business owners and management following in their footsteps will result in a less motivated, engaged team. It will also result in a lower standard of work, and a higher chance of producing poor products and services. Make the investment to create a company culture that motivates and inspires your team to do their best each and every day. When you do, your team will work to build a company they are proud to be a part of. Here’s to YOUR success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Leadership and Life Coach. She is the Chairwoman and CEO of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where they help you up-level your skills so you can up-level your income. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, and personality assessments. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
