Own Your Culture
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
TL; DR
Culture has a huge impact on organizational performance and leaders determine culture whether they’re conscious of it or not.
Culture is based on values, which leaders often confuse with strategies. A value is something that you hold even if it costs you.
You can spread and reinforce values through rituals and stories.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
Most people hear this adage and conclude that culture is more important than strategy.
That’s true, but I focus on the meal. It’s breakfast, not dinner. Culture is the first thing
that impacts your people.
Your organization has a culture whether you know it or not, like it or not, think about it or
not. It matters more than you probably realize. It’s best to design it deliberately from the
outset. If you didn’t do that, now’s a good time to start.
If you’re in charge, you can, should, and will influence the culture, either
intentionally or unintentionally. If you don’t lead an organization but do manage a
team, you can determine the culture of that group within the broader culture. And if
you’re just joining an organization, you’d better understand the culture you’re getting
into, since it could impact your job satisfaction more than any other factor. As a young
executive I decided against taking a job due to the culture and left another one due to
conflict with its values.
Values Are the Foundation
Values are the starting point for creating culture. Begin by writing down the ones you
want to form the foundation for your organization’s or team’s culture. Aim for four to
seven core values that feel essential to who you are. And watch out for the most
common error: picking strategies rather than values. If you’d change it based on
what will help your business succeed, that’s a strategy. If you’d stick with it even if it’s
bad for your bottom line, that’s a core value.
For example, one of my company’s values was “Excellence Everywhere.” (As with most
core values, it was aspirational: We weren’t excellent in everything we did, but we tried
to be.) We made a major investment in the conference business and initially were quite
successful. Eventually, however, we realized that the business model – at least in our
field – required producing a high volume of events, most of which would lose money,
and minimizing costs so that the occasional hits would make up for the rest. We could
do that, but we couldn’t deliver excellence with those economics, so we exited the
business.
The same principle applies if you’re a nonprofit leader or one without budget
responsibility. If you continue or cease an activity when it’s costly to do so you are
making a values statement.
Make clear to your team that values differ from strategies. Another core value we had
was “Ethics Above All.” Several times a team member approvingly pointed out that this
was smart because good ethics was good business. I always pushed back on that, for
two reasons. First, I could think of plenty of ways to be more profitable by being less
ethical. We all have examples of cheaters getting away with it. So why don’t I do that?
For the same reasons you don’t: Because it’s wrong, and we all at least try to do the
right thing. But more important, if we justify our behavior on practical grounds, we
change it when those grounds shift. That’s a strategy. Values must be grounded in
something deeper than ROI.
Build Values into Rituals
It’s important to tell people about core values at the beginning, but that’s not enough.
Experts love to point out that most staff can’t name their organization’s values when
asked. You have to remind your team frequently. We did that through rituals.
One setting for this might be your staff meetings. Our monthly gathering typically drew
more than 75 people. In the last ten minutes, I would randomly call on staff members
and have them tell me about a colleague they had caught “committing a core value.”
Since this was a monthly practice, staff came prepared. For our “Excellence
Everywhere” value, someone might say: “In the deal Mary closed this week the client
told me that her outstanding responsiveness was the reason we got the sale.” Or: “Raul
delivered the project four days early, and it was his best work yet.” This approach
reinforced our culture, gave everyone vivid examples of values in action, and built
morale across the team. Staff looked forward to it – and spent the week before each
meeting thinking about our core values they might be called on to name.
Values Are Stronger When They’re Tested
We learn best through stories. They are much more impactful than abstract
principles.
One time we flew our team members to an out-of-town conference. Some attendees
were registered at the full level — $1,000 per person — while a few, including one
newer salesperson, were registered at the $100 rate that didn’t include the opening
reception. When I noticed the lower-tier salesperson at the reception, I pulled her aside
and asked how she got in. She explained the group walked in together with her in the
center so no one could see her badge.
I was disappointed and told her so. Since she was new and it was a team misstep, I didn’t belabor it — but I made clear this wasn’t how we did business. Then I went to find the president of the association hosting the conference. I told him the whole story, apologized, and asked where I could pay the difference.
His response surprised me. He said that he and some colleagues had been
reconsidering the pricing structure — it seemed unfair to exclude someone who had
flown across the country from a single opening reception. He wouldn’t take the money.
That was great, though it wasn’t the point; I was following our core value.
I later sat down the entire group and told them that the behavior had been inconsistent
with who we were as an organization. This made a strong impression: We were willing
to pay more and humble ourselves with an apology to the association’s president, to
stay consistent to our principles.
Following a core value when it’s painful to do so is a far more powerful teacher
than a list hanging on a wall.
A few days after the conference, back at the office, we had our monthly all-staff
meeting. I decided it would be important to tell the story there without identifying anyone
by name or role. It happened that we had a candidate in that day interviewing for a
senior management position. I’d invited him to observe the meeting without thinking
much about what I’d be sharing. After the meeting, he made a point of telling me that
he’d never witnessed anything like that in a corporate setting — that level of honesty
and vulnerability about a real situation. It had given him a clearer picture of who we
were as a company than any job description or interview question could have.
I’m glad we impressed him – for the right reasons. And if we had turned him off, that
would have been fine too. Better that he learn up front he wasn’t a good fit.
Culture may indeed eat strategy for breakfast. But as a leader, you are the cook.
(Watch for my next post on How to Build Culture)
Try This Week:
Pick one of your core values (and if you haven’t selected them yet, pick a value that’s important to you) and share a story with your team that illustrates how you or others in the group have expressed that value.
Thank a team member for a behavior specifically related to a core value and make the connection explicit.
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