Change Embedded Culture
Certain industries are notorious for the kind of company culture that they cultivate. Wall Street was known for an extreme form of competitiveness, likened to The Wolf of Wall Street. So, can you Change Embedded Culture?
By contrast, places like social work organisations tend to be more collaborative. Most workplaces will fall somewhere in between these two poles. The thing about these two cultures is that they both carry downsides that can impact the long-term health of your business. Highly competitive workplace environments bring out excellence and top-notch results, but they also encourage people to undercut and back-stab each other in an effort to be the best.
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Egalitarian businesses foster creativity, collaboration and empathy but they can also suffer from weak leadership and low productivity.
As the owner, it is up to you to find a good balance that encourages excellence while still promoting a sense belonging to a team. Your employees will only move in the direction that you lead them in. The culture in your buisness starts at the top and trickles down the ladder. If your business suffers from nepotism, mistrust and internecine fighting, that is YOUR fault. You are the captain of your OWN ship, so take OWNERSHIP! It is your responsibility to lead in a way that empowers your employees and rewards merit.
Setting the right tone for your business is a daunting task for those unfamiliar with how to go about it. Fortunately, there are a few simple yet powerful steps that you can take to seeding your business with the right behaviors and mindset, so that it will blossom into something greater.
Never play favourites
You may relate with some people better than others. It’s only natural that you’ll align with certain personality types better. Don’t let that excuse or justify treating them better than other people. When you allow subjective factors like that to influence who you hire and promote, you undermine the integrity of your workplace. You also show that competence and merit are not valued or rewarded. Businesses that suffer from backstabbers and ‘brown-nosers’ are almost always guilty of violating this rule.
Don’t make somebody a manager just because they’re your friend or family member. Let a person’s work ethic and performance be the sole dictating factor in their promotion. A focus on excellence will work its way down to the lowest employees in your company.
Hold yourself to the highest standard
A leader and owner sets the tone of a business. Your employees will follow your lead, and the standard you set for yourself will be the standard that your employees ultimately hold themselves to. If you ask your employees to perform a particularly dirty task, be the first to do it yourself. When asking your employees to stay late, don’t hesitate to do so yourself when the times call for it. Your rules state that your employees keep their smartphones off of the floor, don’t check your text messages every five minutes. If you hold them to a different standard than what you hold yourself to, you will lose your respect and credibility as a leader.
Set goals and follow up, but acknowledge success
Employees do not start off apathetic and unmotivated. In most cases, a failure of leadership has led that person to become disengaged with their job. Preventing that process from beginning is accomplished by setting clear goals while still empowering the employee to achieve them. People will take pride in what they do if they know that they are recognised.
Set a target for your team and hold them accountable.
If your employees know that you are paying attention to them, then they will go above and beyond what is expected of them. A worker without aim is an unproductive and unhappy one, but one that is micromanaged will begin to doubt their own abilities and self-worth. Find the right balance between the two, and you’ll be amazed at what your employees will accomplish.
If you want to know more about cultivating company culture, call me on 07716 292378 mail me at ianfinney@actioncoach.com or CLICK HERE and I’ll get back to you within four hours.
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