Culture Starts Here

All the rage in company culture today is finding the right cultural “fit.”

Important? Yes, but the catalyst rarely mentioned is its predecessor.

With previous companies I’ve consulted, leadership begets culture.

(In fact, if you want to get literal, strategy comes before culture too.)

Why am I mentioning this? 

Because if you’re trying to build and strengthen your company culture you need to start with leadership first.

Think about it…

Leaders create the strategy which shapes the culture.

The core values that leadership shows through behaviors (not on paper) are the building blocks of culture.

Why?

Because employees look to the top to see what values are rewarded.

Leadership plans the strategy which impacts the company culture. 

Somewhere along the way, people forget this order and skip ahead to culture.

But it doesn’t work that way.

If you want to get culture right, you need to get the leadership right first.

• I can’t emphasize how important selecting the right leaders is.

• Leaders are going to dictate what the strategy and culture looks like.

Now if you’re early on in your startup, begin with a list of 5-10 leadership attributes desired.

Identify people inside and outside of the organization that possess as many of the leadership qualities valued.

Those leaders draft the blueprint for strategic goals.

Based on the strategy, culture will be a result.

Company culture can be overwhelming and too much of an undertaking for any one person to change.

But with the right leadership in place, culture can become pliable according to the strengths of those above.

• For managers wondering how they impact culture from the middle, look in all directions.

• You’re the bridge between the executives and frontline of the company.

• Maybe you’re not in position to influence your boss (yet), but how you serve your team dictates turnover/retention internally.

Face it, if you have people under your care, you’re a leader.

Which means you have a part in shaping the culture.

“Buy-in” is talked about frequently in the workplace and this is a prime example.

I know this post is a bit more “heady” than my normal ones, but I believe this topic is where you need to functionally strategically in your mind (regardless of your current role).

I challenge you to think outside of your role and understand how companies operate.

If you want to change culture, you have to start with leadership.

If you need help getting started with that, contact me here.

God Bless,

Scott

If you found this helpful and you’re looking to improve your soft skills as a leader, here are ways to work with me directly:

• 🗣 Hire me to speak at your company or next event (watch my speaking reel here)

• 🎤 Invite me to lead an interactive training workshop, remotely or in-person (depending on location)

• 🤝 Start 1:1 coaching with me as a new manager, current leader or executive (I once managed 30 people 1:1 weekly❗️)

Also, you can help me out by forwarding this to friends whom would benefit from it! Thank you!