Culture Control
The culture of your organization is either inherited or forged. This means you either react to it or are shaping it into what you want. Culture will be formed; the question is will you form it, or will it form itself? When left up to itself, it rarely goes well. You either control it, or it controls you. Unfortunately, most organizations don’t control and lead to what they want it to be. The problem with not getting control is that it’s a recipe for personality chaos. The strongest personalities rule the culture, while the more reserved personalities suffer in their wake.
You must intentionally work at getting in front of the culture to direct it. So, how do you control the culture?
Here are some thoughts to forge your culture:
1) Talk About It
You have to say it, spray it, wheel it, deal it, and seal it when it comes to culture. Every chance you have to talk about the culture you want to see, the more it will stick. You can’t expect to talk about culture at a one-time retreat at the beginning of the year and expect it to stay with everyone throughout the year. It must be woven into the way you conduct everything. I heard a leader once say, “Unless you are nauseated by how much you talk about the vision, you haven’t talked about it enough.” What a challenging thought. How nauseated are you by how much you talk about your organization’s culture and vision? You would probably be shocked how many employees don’t know their company’s vision. Most vision statements are institutionalized within a poster on the wall rather than internalized within the hearts of the people. A leader’s job is to ensure they genuinely weave in the organization’s vision and values as often and best as possible.
2) Train To It
Culture has to be trained too. Talking about it is excellent, but it isn’t enough. You must equip your team with tools and fundamental strategies to live out a healthy culture. What are you doing to train to your core values? What are you doing that is educating and resourcing your team to practice the right behaviors? Too many organizations I have seen do a great job at training the logistics and tactical skills, but they spend little time training towards mindsets, attitudes, communication, and behaviors.
You need to figure out a training plan that is consistent and helpful. What would your answer be if I were to ask you what is your developmental strategy to shape your culture? If you have to think about it and fumble around…you don’t have one! I have worked with many organizations to help them develop a strategy to build and shape culture through training and core values, and it has been incredibly impactful. You must spend time developing your plan so you can start to shape your culture.
3) Tether Everything To It
Everything must be tied back to the culture you are trying to create. Leadership is much like the connect-the-dot games. What appears to be a fragmented mess, or purposeless happenings, can become a beautiful tapestry of opportunity. Great leaders are phenomenal connect-the-dots-type people. They constantly find ways to bring everyone and everything into harmony together. Never assume everyone is connecting the dots in your organization. In fact, assume they are not connecting the dots. Communicate how everything should point back to the vision, mission, and culture you are moving towards. When we lose sight of why we are doing what we are doing, we start to lose motivation. Every project, every meeting, every process, every task, every event, everything should point to the culture you are trying to create.
Get control of your culture, or it will get control of you.
