Every home, every school, every church, every business, and every classroom have a culture. Every organization has a culture. The only question is what kind of culture is it? Culture is hard to define but easy to feel. It’s simply the feel of the organization or the way things get done. Culture is how people relate to one another, behave and communicate.
The question is, “Is your culture hindering or helping you to achieve your objective?”
In my last post, we talked about the first five commandments of a healthy culture. They were:
1. Clarify your organizational values.
2. Clarify expectations and hold people accountable.
3. Have fun.
4. Invite feedback.
5. Admit mistakes.
Here are the last five commandments to foster a healthy culture with your team.
6. Create a score board.
Chris McChesney, coauthor of The Four Disciplines of Execution put it this way, “People play different when you are keeping score. People perform best when they are emotionally engaged, and the highest level of engagement comes when they know the score.”
When there is no scoreboard and the team has no idea if the organization is winning or losing, they are less engaged, less passionate, and less focused. However, when your team can see the score, they will get inspired and motivated to help the team win. Knowing the score keeps the team focused on the mission.
7. Make decisions in team.
This commandment is really about empowerment. If you want to create a culture where team members feel like they have skin in the game, you must empower them to have a say in decisions. When decisions are made in team, a culture of responsibility is created. You draw better leaders around you. Instead of having a team of “yes people” around you, you have a team of intelligent, confident, and courageous people.
The reason many leaders avoid making decisions in team is because it does take more time and seem less efficient. But that is only true in the short term. In the long term it saves you time, energy and resources because you end up making better decisions.
8. Be positive.
Almost nothing shapes a culture more than the attitude of the leader. John Gordon recently wrote a book called The Power of Positive Leadership. He said, “…emotions are contagious.” Researchers call them emotional contagions, and they impact our work environments, productivity, teamwork, service and performance in significant and profound ways.
When people are positive, they work harder and longer and are more productive. You as the leader have the power to shape the emotional culture of your organization by bringing a positive attitude to work.
9. Ask the right questions.
Leaders can shape culture by asking the right questions. The questions you ask always reveal what the leader values or cares about. The right questions help the team to understand what is vital to the organization. So, if you want a culture of growth–ask questions about numbers. If you want a culture of care and concern–ask questions about how your team is feeling and doing personally. I believe asking the right questions is one of the most important tasks of any leader.
10. Bring your best every day.
Nothing shapes your culture like the personal example of the leader. Lee Iacocca said, “The speed of the boss is the speed of the team.” It is your passion and energy that will create a culture of passion and energy. It is your personal example of disciplined eating, exercise, planning, communication, and time off that will shape your team’s culture about those. You don’t have to preach it, you just have to live it. Albert Einstein said, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.”
These 10 Commandments of a Healthy Culture, if implemented and followed, will create a culture of effectiveness and execution, and it will foster a feeling of fulfillment and engagement with the objectives of your organization. Your team will feel a sense of collaboration and trust. Better decisions will be made, and, ultimately, your team will have the right environment to achieve the goals that are set before them.
Two Questions:
1. Which commandment do you need to implement immediately to fix a culture problem?
2. Do you feel I missed a commandment that you’d like to implement with your team?
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