In my last blog post, I established the definitive link between culture, employee engagement, and organizational performance. And let’s face it, in today’s high-tech business environment it’s easy to stay on top of, or even mimic, your competitors’ products and methods. So the last remaining competitive advantage you really have lives inside your organization—your leadership effectiveness and the culture those leaders establish.
Every organization has a culture, whether they’ve defined and cultivated it or not. The question is: Does your organization have the culture it needs to achieve the results it desires? If your answer is not a resounding “yes,” your organization has some work to do.
I like to start with what I call the strategic foundation—the mission, vision, and core values. The mission defines why the organizations exists, the vision defines what the organization aspires to be or achieve, and the core values describe what the organization deems important. Many organizations have these tenets written down in some form or fashion, and use them to drive behaviors and decisions to varying degrees. You can’t build a business upon this foundation if it’s not documented, so do that first. And put the requisite effort into it.
If you’ve already got the mission, vision, and core values documented, now would be a good time to review them and see if they inspire and motivate the workforce behaviors you’re seeking. Otherwise, your strategic foundation is not providing you the strength it is intended to provide.
Let’s talk a bit about mission. If your organization’s mission says anything about revenue or profits, you’ve got it wrong—because only the greedy are motivated by money for any extended period of time. The rest of us are motivated by opportunities to serve and have a meaningful impact. So make sure your mission defines not only why your organization exists, but also who it is at its core. This may take some collective soul searching. You have to go inside and know the value you bring and what you stand for in order for it to matter to your employees, investors, and customers. Do it—it’s worth it. I promise.
Getting your mission right is the first step in defining your culture. The next step is defining desired behaviors. Many organizations have a handful of core values identified, but few have gone the extra step to define what those values look like in action. This is a great way to let employees know what is expected of them behaviorally. Then, you can work these behaviors into learning programs, recruiting and onboarding, and the performance management system, which is where culture comes to life (more on this in next week’s blog post).
Here’s a great example of a core value defined. Use this as a model when you update your own core values.
Collaboration is
- actively listening to the ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives of others
- keeping an open mind to perspectives that may be different from your own
- recognizing that the power of multiple experiences and inputs may result in the best outcome
- working together to create multi-discipline, integrated solutions
- finding and leveraging common values or goals to overcome obstacles.
Can you see how if you define who you are as an organization, and document the behaviors you believe will make you successful, you’ve taken the first steps in establishing a culture that will lead your organization to its greatest potential? Next week we’ll examine how to bring that culture to life through people systems. Until then, in the comment section below, share with me your experiences related to a strategic foundation and a solid, performance-driving organizational culture. Be brilliant!
