How to Design a Great Company Culture

Some leaders – especially older leaders and leaders (actually managers) within large corporations that chase quarterly results for the sole purpose of raising the share price so that their CEOs will get a bonus – still roll their eyes when I mention the word ‘culture’.  And then they follow up with the comment: “Please. Spare me the bullsh** lecture on culture! It’s a bunch of consultant speak.”

Top Company to Work For?

What I always find amusing is that these same organizations will often hand out objectives to their managers around being recognized as one of the ‘Top Companies to Work For.’  Well… I say, maybe one of the top companies to work for if you want to be constantly subjected to performance reviews because the EBITDA numbers don’t look good.  And if the quarterly EBITDA sucks, then we are going to have to go through ‘a round of human capital optimization moves’ (fancy corporate speak for employee severances).

OK, if that is you, I just described above, you can stop reading now.

All Companies Have a Culture

Your company has a culture whether you believe in culture or not.  And… if the culture is one of fear and intimidation where employees hide the truth from you as if you were the ‘Emperor that wore no clothes’, then you’ve got some work to do!

If that doesn’t describe you as a leader, or the company you work for… congratulations!  You’re probably on your way to becoming a magnet for attracting and retaining top talent and building a ROI on that talent that has been proven through studies going back 20-years to outperform in terms of revenue, profit and share price every stock index on the planet.

Designing Your Culture

Anytime you have more than one person in an organization you will have a culture.  Fortunately, culture can be built by design.  And, I truly believe that culture is potentially your number one competitive advantage in the marketplace today.

How then do you build a culture by design?  Here’s a simple starter list:

1. Catch People Doing Things Right. Get out of your office and walk around (MBWA – Management by walking around).  Talk to people.  Find opportunities to talk to your people about their progress, encourage their development, praise them for good work they are doing, ensure they know they are important to the company, ask for their opinions, make sure they know all about the direction and strategies of the business. If you’re not back in the office yet, then book calls to talk about just this, no other topic of conversation.
2. Bring Values to Life. Yes, the ‘Values’ word.  They need to be more than words on the wall.  Your job is to talk about them all the time.  What they mean.  Recognize people for living them.  Immediately correct any and all values violations.
3. Start with Why. Yes, it’s also the title of Simon Sinek’s first book however, purpose is incredibly important to engaging the hearts and minds of people.  Every request you have of your people should always include a ‘Why’ it needs to be done and what benefit is it going to bring your people (not the company – that is an outcome of the job they do).
4. Celebrate the Baby Steps. Just like when you baby takes their first steps in life, proud parents are usually over the moon.  Find a way to get excited about the small wins your team delivers.
5. Be Vulnerable. You don’t need to have all the answers.  As a leader, you are paid to get things done with and through other people.  Be open with your team about your shortcomings and ask them for ideas.  You will build higher levels of trust and engagement.

Culture will happen regardless, if you create it or not.  And, as I once told the CEO of a company that had a dysfunctional culture; “You get the culture you deserve.”

Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, #1 Best Selling Author, International Keynote Speaker, and TEC Top Speaker of the Year for 2018. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, connect with Robert on LinkedIn.

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