Question:
I’m the leader of a small but quickly growing company. How can I make sure I’m building a positive corporate culture?
Answer:
I love this question! Let’s face it, if your team isn’t thriving then neither is your business. Let’s talk about 5 simple strategies leaders can use to cultivate a healthy corporate culture.
5 Things Good Leaders Do to
Build Teams That Don’t Suck
Good Leaders Take a Stand
Remember, you’re in charge and your team is going to take its social cues from you. Corporate culture flows from the top down. This means that you really need to decide early on what you want your corporate values to be, and you need to live and work in a way that demonstrates these to your team. This sounds easy enough, but in practice it can be really tough! I know one CEO who named 5 corporate values and made sure they were clearly communicated in interviews and during the on-boarding process. He also demonstrated them through his actions at work. This emphasis on values and leadership-by-example had a tremendously positive impact on the overall culture, and the company had a widespread reputation for being a great place to work.
But wait! There’s more. Living your values is a good start but in order to be a truly effective leader you also have to confront bad behavior when someone on your team strays out of bounds. I know, it’s not easy, but remember that this is your team. If you choose not to get involved when one of your employees goes against your values or does something that’s hurtful to another employee, you’re implicitly endorsing that bad behavior. There’s a name for this phenomena. It’s called Toxic Silent Collusion and it will destroy your corporate culture in no time flat. If the mere idea of having to confront bad behavior makes you a little anxious and queasy, have no fear! Dr. Steve Yacovelli has you covered. For practical strategies you can use to address unacceptable behavior without making a whole big thing of it, check out Dr. Yacovelli’s website and tune into this episode of Dov Baron’s Leadership and Loyalty podcast. I guarantee it will be worth your time.
Good Leaders don’t hire jerks
I know another CEO who would regularly advise, “Given the choice between a competent hire with a good attitude and a genius with an ego, always choose the good attitude.” Heed his warning! One big ego will make some waves, two are seriously disruptive, and by the time you’ve hit three you’ve lost all control over your culture. I don’t care how talented a person is. If they don’t demonstrate behavior that’s in line with your values, don’t hire them. It’s not worth it. No jerks. No exceptions.
Good Leaders Are Clear About Responsibilities and corporate Structure
I know another CEO who instituted the mantra, “Everyone has the same job, and it’s to make the company successful.” This company-wide expectation resulted in the most productive and cohesive team I have ever observed.
What this CEO meant was that he expected everyone, regardless of title, to be responsible for the menial day-to-day tasks involved in running a small business. If there was a company lunch, EVERYONE pitched in to clean up afterwards. If a delivery driver needed a signature and you were standing by the door, you signed. He personally drove these points home at every new employee orientation, but his philosophy was not strictly limited to menial tasks. Every member of the team was equally responsible for doing their part to achieve larger strategic goals too. The C-suite did an amazing job of presenting monthly town halls where everyone was welcome and that inclusion empowered employees to move forward in their individual roles with a unified, strategic frame of reference. People genuinely appreciated the company’s expectation of shared responsibility.
That’s not to say that the organization was flat. There was plenty of hierarchy, but that hierarchy was limited to more specialized tasks, and those divisions of labor and responsibility were always clearly defined. When someone was promoted or a new employee joined the team, an email always went out to the entire company to clarify those changes. No one ever had to guess who did what.
I’m telling you, this strategy works. Set clear expectations for who does what, and make sure that both menial tasks and strategic goals are shared across the team. You will not be disappointed in the results.
Good Leaders embrace diverse perspectives
If your entire leadership team looks and lives alike, you’re doing it wrong. Your company is going to end up making decisions based on a very narrow range of experiences. You’re going to miss opportunities, you’re going to make poor decisions that negatively impact populations not represented in the decision making process, and you’re going to send a crystal clear message to more divergent members of your team and talent pool that there’s no growth available to them within your organization. Recruiting will become more difficult and any rising talent that doesn’t fit your mold will inevitably leave you. Stop limiting your company’s growth and get comfortable with inviting in new perspectives. You’re only hurting yourself by limiting your range of leadership talent.
Good Leaders Create Space For Organic Bonding
This last strategy is a little trickier than the others. In order to pull it off properly, you really need to get to know your team. Don’t plan company events just to have them, and don’t limit the appeal to a narrow segment of your team. Your goal is to create relaxed settings where employees can bond organically and you want everyone to feel welcome and included. EVERYONE. I know one company leader who used to hold an annual soup and grilled cheese social where people brought soups from home to share potluck-style and company leaders took turns at the grill dishing up grilled cheese sandwiches. It sounds simple and maybe a little corny but, in practice, it was awesome. Why? Because the event had widespread appeal, everyone was welcome, and company leaders set the tone by getting behind the grill and engaging in some literal servant-leadership. I can’t tell you exactly how to pull this off at your company, only you can do that, but use your imagination and see what you can come up with. Remember to make sure your idea has widespread appeal, make sure everyone feels welcome, and if you really want to establish yourself as an effective leader, don’t be afraid to model the attitude you want to foster by stepping into a servant-leadership role.
So, that’s it! If you have questions or ideas with regard to any of the above and you want to kick them around, don’t hesitate to send me an email at info@darkhorse.llc.
As always, keep going. You’ve got this!