Is your workplace culture something to be proud of? If you believe this is the case and continuously strive to make your workplace the envy of your competitors across Australia, then you are in the minority. There are many ingredients to a thriving, effective and productive workplace where key talent is energised and retained for long term success. From my experience, this essentially boils down to one major factor – workplace culture.
Workplace culture is often referred to by business leaders as the “great intangible.” Maybe this is because it’s one of the greatest leadership challenges of our generation. We’ve all heard comments like “culture is something you can’t quite put your finger on” or it being the “great unknown” within a workplace. However, they are often quick to remark that there is a “culture problem” if a highly performing employee leaves inexplicably or there is conflict evident between team members which negatively disrupts the workplace status quo.
Recognising this as both a challenge and opportunity, effective business leaders are instrumental in the creation and fostering of a strong and robust workplace culture. The consensus amongst employees of a strong workplace culture should always be that the senior leaders are leading by example. This example is to consistently demonstrate an action-oriented approach to tasks and activities with a strong focus on tangible results and outcomes. Perhaps the senior leaders go as far as embodying this ethos with a humorous tone, ensuring that all staff feel comfortable and can bring their authentic selves to work on a consistent basis. Ensuring strong work-life balance principles are role modelled right from the top of your organisation adds further authenticity to this approach.
According to the Harvard Business Review “If you want to provoke a vigorous debate, start a conversation on organizational culture. While there is universal agreement that (1) it exists, and (2) that it plays a crucial role in shaping behaviour in organizations, there is little consensus on what organizational culture is, never mind how it influences behaviour and whether it is something leaders can change.” Leading online management publication Fast Company have written what they believe are the 12 signs that your company has what they refer to as an “enviable workplace culture”. These are summarised as follows:
1. People are waiting in line to join your team
2. Turnover is low
3. Top leaders are secure about other leaders succeeding
4. Gossip isn’t tolerated
5. Lateral leadership is outstanding
6. Team members are energized by the mission
7. It’s not just a job
8. The team believes they are more important than the task
9. People are smiling
10. Fear is missing
11. Communication is strong
12. Change is welcome
According to Fast Company, “In just one department, in one corner of the building, a new culture can begin to emerge. As others interact with the healthy department, they are attracted to it. At their core, no one wants to live in a culture of negativity. People want to love their job. They might not know how to act in a positive environment, and they might resist as you call them out of a place of mediocrity, but ultimately love and positivity always wins out.”
Does your organisation do the following with their staff? These are examples of tangible / measurable aspects of a workplace which define an authentic, positive and collaborative culture:
- Providing our staff with flexible working hours to suit their work/life balance requirements
- Empowering our staff to decide what is the best way for them to achieve their goals and objectives, whether that be from work or at home
- Measuring individual success based on tangible output, rather than based on how long you spend at work each day (quality V quantity). Sometimes less is more!
- Enshrining an ethos whereby a strong focus on family is encouraged and promoted always
- Promoting a strong sense of community involvement and connection through various community engagement and charitable initiatives
- Continuously improving the physical workplace office environment for our staff so that they can create and generate unique and exciting outcomes for our clients
Microsoft founder Bill Gates once said that “success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” I believe this statement by Gates is a powerful one. Become obsessed with continuous cultural improvement, learning from your mistakes, never resting on your laurels or become complacent with your success.
