Over the last 20 years or so, I’ve worked with all kinds of leaders, teams, and organisations. And as a Learning and Development director – helping these groups of people enhance their skills, values and performances – I’ve come to know quite a bit about work cultures. Specifically, what makes a culture ‘awesome’.
I’ve narrowed down my thoughts, from all my experience, into five key features of awesome cultures. But just before I get into that, let me answer some possible questions and make sure we’re all on the same page.
What is culture? Who’s responsible for it?
Culture, within a workplace, can be defined in many ways. To keep it simple, I like to define cultures by three things: what people SEE, what people HEAR, and what people FEEL. To me, these factors are fundamental; they bring to life what culture really is.
(Image via my collaborative development platform, The Anonymous Leader)
Of course, I’m not talking about the colour of the walls, or the music playing, or the office temperature… here’s what I mean:
SEE – The interactions and behaviours of everyone. What action is really being witnessed?
HEAR – The stories, rumours, and general chat between others. How do people talk about the work being done?
FEEL – The ideas of support, safety, and respect. Do people feel confident in sharing their ideas or reaching out when they aren’t feeling okay?
A lot of people think that HR is solely responsible for culture – that’s not right. HR may take the lead on staff surveys, training and development, policies and providing the right tools to help. But culture is influenced by everyone.
People with more responsibility (like leaders of teams, managers and supervisors) do have the most influence upon the overall culture. However, people at all levels within the organisation have their part to play as well. There’s a lot more to learn from these ideas, so look out for future blog posts!
For now, here are the basics of awesome cultures, in five short points.
Have Real Conversations in Real Time
(Photo by Frank Leuderalbert, via Unsplash)
If you take one thing away from all my five features, make it this. Conversations, that happen in the here and now, count the most towards awesome cultures.
Tons of organisations avoid difficult conversations. Some companies only give out feedback when it’s positive, so their teams can’t take criticism well if – or when – it does come up. And the opposite applies, too.
I say, let’s open up. Let’s start having important conversations when they are needed most – straight away. Alongside formal schedules, mid-year and end-of-year reviews, let’s begin chatting all the time. Informal calls, daily huddles, one to ones. Have a talk with people while passing in the corridor, or even while making teas!
If someone’s work is off the mark, chat about it. Find out what’s going on by being open and honest in the moment. Quicker conversations make for quicker solutions, to solve that issue or get that person back on track.
Alternatively, if someone is doing amazing work, tell them about it! Ask them what they are doing and how they feel about it; they keep getting better or help spread that excellence.
Don’t let things go unsaid for too long, so catch conversation opportunities as they happen to make for an awesome culture.
Show Your Team What You Stand For
(Photo by Ian Schneider, via Unsplash)
Let’s get into company values. It’s very usual for organisations to describe what they’re all about, through the values they choose. I like to question these chosen principles though – a lot of companies’ catchy and flashy values are a little more like taglines.
So, here’s somethings to get you thinking: Do these values actually exist? How are they shown or supported?
It’s easy to say what you believe in, and harder to prove it. How do you make your words actionable, and therefore real to your staff?
Here’s an example. If an organisations core value is centred around ‘innovation’… how do they prove it? You’d expect to see a lot of honesty within the culture about mistakes, in order to constantly make great improvements. You’d hope to see all ideas and opportunities be actively encouraged.
So, values need to be embedded. Talk about them, integrate them, make them visible. Make sure that everybody knows – and more importantly understands – the organisation’s values, why they exist, and how they align with each person’s specific role. Put those values everywhere:
– In everyday conversations. Discuss which of your values will help most with each particular project.
– Into the entire people lifecycle. From onboarding to performing, progressing and even exiting.
– In every possible, visible way. Display them where they’ll be seen the most, like across the website, or even on slapped onto mousemats (who still uses them?).
When time is taken to show and action core beliefs, the culture becomes clearer. People can all work together, under a set of shared values.
Tell People Where You’re Going & Plan To Get There
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This feature is quite similar to the last point. Goals are like values: we can all have them, but how are they proven?
Narrowing down what an organisation’s plans are, to turn them from nice thoughts into real action, has such a positive effect on culture.
Not every company has a strategy – some do and that’s great! Others may have a big mission or grand vision, but no clear path mapped out.
A goal, with some details at least, will make for an awesome culture. I know organisations don’t have a magic crystal ball to predict the road ahead. But, what about sketching out a roadmap?
For example, if a company wishes to expand their operations, they may set this goal:
Open 3 new European country units by the end of 2022
Now they can narrow their focus, start planning and make it happen. The clearer an organisation is with their goals, with as many details as possible, the more people can get behind them. Teams and individuals can start aligning what they do, in their job, with what the company wants to achieve overall.
Show People All Possibilities
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‘Possibility’ can mean a couple of things nowadays. Most of all, I’m talking about career possibilities. Lots of companies don’t have clear career paths for their staff; a lot of people don’t understand what others, in the same department or even team, actually do! You can’t begin to know the options available, without knowing what your colleagues – even working on the same floor as you – are doing for a living.
So, creating career paths are great. Making them visible is even better, whether that’s through flowcharts, ladders, or other graphics. The culture improves when everybody knows what choices they have, and feel confident enough to make them. Individuals can see where they fit, how they contribute, and how to aim higher.
And making these possibilities common knowledge does not mean any promises are being made – it’s just about being open to what is achievable within departments and the wider company. It lets people make choices for themselves, for their own careers.
Secondly, ‘possibility’ also refers to ways of working. These days, flexibility is highly rated; people value some room for compromise, from their employers. So, clarity on the possibilities of home working, adaptable work patterns or hours, plays a big part in the culture of an organisation.
Take the Pulse of the Organisation & Act On It
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Circling back to the first of these five features of awesome cultures, communication is key here. Chatting, meetings, discussion – these will help you understand the rhythm of an organisation. Take the pulse by asking honest questions about culture. What do people SEE, HEAR and FEEL? What’s really going on?
Again, HR may take the lead on pulse-taking (through, say, a staff survey). These are great tools, which can reveal general opinions and trends… but there is more to it than that.
Be candid. Is everyone truly supported? Is everyone aiming for success? How is the company connected to other markets?
If you are prepared to take in opinions though, you must be prepared to act on them.
Maybe not everything that surfaces needs to be addressed, but prominent themes with the biggest impact definitely do. Be clear about what action will be taken, but also what’s not going to be committed to (and why).
That’s it! Those are my five key features, condensed down. Now, I challenge you to look back on these ideas and start to consider how they fit within your organisation. Could you rank them from best to worst (from doing the most of to doing the least of)?
Consider where you can congratulate yourself, your team and your company, for already working towards an awesome culture. And for those areas that need enhancement, feel free to reach out. Let’s improve your culture, together.