“Leadership is absolutely about inspiring action, but it is also about guarding against mis-action” – Simon Sinek
It is the responsibility of Leaders to get everyone on the same page. Knowing what you want and being clear on what it should look like is a matter of intentional cultural development.
Having a healthy culture in place is a win/win for everyone connected to or doing business with an organization. Some may be tempted to write off the idea of proper culture in the workplace as a fad. The truth is many leaders have understood the power of culture for a long time.
Good Culture is Good for Business
An organization’s culture determines the success or failure of that company. The people within every business agree on something, the question is on what? To what extent is that unifying mindset influencing day to day operations?
A company’s culture reflects the values of its leaders and employees, whether or not those held values agree with the ones written in the organization’s manual.
Question: How do we get everyone on the same page?
Answer: By developing a culture that reflects the values of the organization. Having the right operating system in place ensures that everyone in the company knows what is acceptable and what is not.
Good operating systems can guide functions and monitor behaviors with a high degree of predictable outcomes. Organizations that utilize good operating systems can acclimate new employees to its existing culture on the front end, avoiding conflicts and misunderstandings later on.
Culture Drives Your Business
“An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage” – Jack Welch
Your company’s culture influences everything in your business. Everyone functions better together and produces more when they are fully engaged and on the same page, thus increasing customer satisfaction.
Some studies have shown that nearly 90% of the leaders and more than 75% of employees say that a workplace culture that reflects good values is vital to the success of the business.
Culture Has a Definite Impact on Your Bottom Line
A 2011 article in Forbes says, “In 1992, HBS Professor James Heskett and I completed an extensive research project detailing the corporate cultures of 200 companies and how each company’s culture affected its long-term economic performance. We published a book, Corporate Culture and Performance, arguing that strong corporate cultures that facilitate adaptation to a changing world are associated with strong financial results.
We found that those cultures highly value employees, customers, and owners and that those cultures encourage leadership from everyone in the firm. So if customer needs change, a firm’s culture almost forces people to change their practices to meet the new needs. And anyone, not just a few people, is empowered to do just that.” (1)
Points for keeping people on the same page (I learned them the hard way)
Great leaders understand the influence of culture and use it to power the organization’s vision.
Everyone knows that communication is a high priority, Great leaders understand that connecting with people is even higher.
See to it that everyone is adequately informed and trained in acceptable values and behaviors.
Revisit values and behaviors periodically, because whatever goes uninspected is disrespected.
“Corporate culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage that is completely within the control of the entrepreneur…”- David Cummings
(1) Kotter “Does corporate structure drive financial performance?” https://goo.gl/WtJYmq
*** This article was authored by John Picarello, Chief Leadership Officer at Lions Pride Leadership Co.***