Leadership: It’s Already Inside – What Does Your Culture Say?
Merry Christmas everyone!
Your organization has an aroma. A feeling – That “buzz” or lack there of when you walk in the door each day. Does the front door to the office feel to employees like it weighs 200 pounds (90.7 KiloGrams) or is as light as air? Are the people you see just going through a set of unconscious, robotic motions or are they energized, alive and inspirational?
The cool part is that with some conscious effort, strategy, alignment, determination and… some patience, you can reverse a crap culture and replace it with one that “Wows” everyone that experiences the business.
It can be fun too.
Start with thinking about these simple questions…
- If your company was a car, what car would it be? Be real with your answer. Not every organization is a Ferrari. If your organization is known in the marketplace for high quality and reliability, then you may be a Honda or Toyota. If your known for engineering excellence, then maybe a Volkswagen. If it innovation, then you could be a Tesla. The point here is that in order to develop the culture that aligns with what the company is or is going to be famous for in the market, you have to start with a vision of what good looks like so people can relate to it.
- What is the song that best portrays the culture you want to have? If the first song that comes to mind is “Shot down in flames” then you are in trouble. If you think “Proud” by Heather Small then start using it.
- If you were going to do a TV commercial for your business, what public personality or hollywood actor would you hire to represent your company?
The questions above may sound ridiculous to you however… the point is that you need to have a clear vision of the culture you want. Once you have that clear vision, then being able to communicate it and put action in place to deliver it becomes much easier.
Ask your team the questions from above. Ask yourself if the answers align with your brand as well? Ask if the answers align with the corporate vision and strategies?
Getting “touchy feely” about vision, strategy, brand and culture is the only way that people (who are naturally “touchy feely”) can relate to how they can play a role in the direction of the business.
If your culture is toxic and sucking the life out of everyone the business touches, then you have nothing to lose!
Do you have a question on Leadership, Sales, Strategy or Change Management that you would like me to answer? Hit the comment button and I will answer it in an upcoming blog. If you wish to be anonymous – No problem. Your identity is safe with me.
Robert Murray is a Key Note Speaker, Turn Around Mercenary and the author of the critically acclaimed book; “It’s Already Inside: Nurturing your innate leadership for business and life success.”
Awesome Bob, going to implement as part of my New Years Resolution!