Talent, Leaders and Culture are rewarded. When you boil it down, culture is essentially a summary of the positive behaviours that are rewarded and maybe even more importantly, the less-than-ideal behaviours that are tolerated within an organisation.
As humans we are social creatures and learn by observing. And no one is more observed in an organisation than its leaders. Accordingly, leadership sets the culture in three ways:
• The behaviours they role model
• The behaviours they reward
• The behaviours they tolerate
Most research on corporate culture focuses on the first two points. This is all well and good, but if organisations want to really have a positive impact on their culture, nothing can do it more efficiently or expediently than raising the bar on the third point – diminishing bad behaviour.
Things like making rude or condescending comments in a meeting in front of others, telling inappropriate jokes, or intentionally excluding others from meetings are just a few examples. While I recognise everyone has an off day, the tolerance of this type of behaviour on a regular basis from an individual “signals” to others. And that message has a ripple effect that then defines an organisation’s culture. So directly and consistently addressing individuals whose behaviours are not measuring up will send a very different message – one of high expectations and respect for others. This is far more effective than an infographic or splashy graphic that announces a company’s priorities and values.
Early in my career I was a safety captain for my work location. At best I was ok in this “other duties as assigned” designation. Despite my okay-ish-ness an important lesson I learned from the experience (and one that I’ll always be thankful to have learned early on) is that there is no substitute for walking the talk. No matter how tired or busy I was, I knew I could never walk past something on the floor and not pick it up. It did not matter if the item was a genuine hazard or not. If I walked past something and a member of the team saw me, it would be no different than shouting over a loudspeaker that safety protocol didn’t need to be followed when it wasn’t convenient.
In this same vein creating a safety standard is a good framework for building a good company culture. As a leader you can never “walk past” (tolerate) poor behaviour because the person exhibiting it just had a fantastic quarter or because you are too busy or are uncomfortable with difficult conversations.
If you do, you’ll be essentially shouting out for all to hear: Our company values and culture are words on a wall … living them is not necessary when it’s not convenient.
Think about the kind of leader you want to be and your role in elevating your organisation’s culture.
