Building Positive Organizational Culture
I have been through four economic up and downswings over the last forty years and have picked up a few things along the way; two of them are experience and perspective.
Every time there is economic downturn or contraction, companies talk about the value they place on their people and how important these same people are to the ability of the company to weather difficult times. They talk about building and enhancing loyalty. They talk about the importance of developing and sustaining positive culture, critical thinking and ingrained belief systems that allow companies and their people to be successful year after year. Yet all these great concepts seem to fly right out the window when sales and profits return.
True corporate culture is a commitment to a way of doing business and a set of beliefs that is not a by-product of economic cycles. Corporate Culture is a commitment to the why behind the what. Not what we sell but why we are in business; why we are different; why we care about the success of our people; why satisfying the needs of our clients (both internal and external) is important? If you can’t answer these questions, I guarantee you that your people can’t either.
In a recent interview, John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco Systems said: “ I realized there was something that many of us do not understand when we take a leadership role: culture. Great companies have very strong and great cultures. A huge part of a leadership role is to drive the culture of the company.”
How do we create great corporate culture? The keys are: right hiring, effective training, open and inclusive communication. We all know that people will do what we ask more quickly and positively when we explain to them why. Creating positive corporate culture is the development of a clear vision that defines us and that is ingrained throughout the entire organization,. Management’s ability to paint the picture of our beliefs and our goals as an organization must be crystal clear to everyone. If this vision is genuine and not just lip service management we will support and invest in the capacity, knowledge and skills of our people and guide them along the path toward achieving the vision that is the essence of our organization.
When the military talks about winning hearts and minds they are describing the hearts and minds of their own people as well as the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan, for example. First they have to set the plan in place, get their own people committed and engaged and THEN get them to help others succeed.
That’s exactly the same for effective corporate culture. Winning the hearts and minds of our people is key to ingraining the beliefs and achieving the goals that are the basis for corporate culture. It will positively effect people, clients/customers and bottom-line!
I can always tell the ones who are committed to corporate/organizational culture and the ones who aren’t. Some just want information presented but some ask the important question: What can we do to actually create these positive changes? These are the ones who will win the hearts and minds and of their people. They will take the time to develop their cultural identity and give their people the training they need to achieve their goals.
Whether it’s speeding a product through to development, clearly defining roles and responsibilities, creating expectations and accountability for management and staff, implementing a community service program, creating a social calendar of events with fellow employees or developing a reward system for helping co-workers, the organizations that invest in creating a positive and powerful corporate culture will always reap rewards that far exceed their investment
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos has been in the news lately with his new book Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. I read an interview with him, where he discusses the core values or corporate culture at Zappos and believe it or not, none of them have to do with shoes! The reason is that shoes are what they do, not who they are.
Here is a list of their core values:
• deliver WOW through service
• embrace and drive change
• create fun and a little weirdness
• be adventurous, creative and open-minded
• pursue growth and learning
• build open and honest relationships with communication
• build a positive team and family spirit
• do more with less
• be passionate and determined
• be humble
Something I noticed about these core values is that they all require willingness and action. The willingness of management to encourage and support these values and to take the action necessary to make sure they are fully integrated into the way in which business is conducted each and every day.
Great corporate culture maybe created at the top but it’s not a top down or a bottom up process, it is both. This is very similar to when management finally understands that quality isn’t a department but rather an organizational mindset. Management has to allow their people the control to try new ideas and new ways to handle existing situations and their people have to believe that if they reach out and try something new, right or wrong, the company will support them.
When the people within an organization feel that their best interest is at heart, they work harder, stay longer and are absent less often: the result is higher productivity and profitability. When people are challenged with positive ideals, great corporate culture becomes possible.
