Who created your company Culture? You did. If not you contributed to it.
One of the books I read on a recent vacation was Rework by Jason Fried and David Hasson. I enjoyed the book. It quickly gets to the point in each chapter while causing you to think about how you operate. It is definitely worth the time to read once or twice.
There were two sentences about culture that really resonated with me.
Artificial culture is paint. Real culture is patina.
The two sentences are indicative of the book: concise; thought provoking; accurate.
Over the last 30 years I have worked at or with companies who wanted to change the culture of the organization or did not understand why their company culture was so challenging. I was always tempted to hold up a mirror in front of the President when this was discussed.
There is not an easy or quick fix for a company culture. If a negative culture has enough patina on it, that culture will eat the best plans to change for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A stocked refrigerator with snacks and energy drinks in the break room or ping pong tables do not create a culture either. They are just paint.
Just like patina on a classic motorcycle, it takes time and consistent outside influences to create a culture. It is the behavior of Leadership over time that creates your company culture (or family).
What do you value as a business leader? What is important to you as a person? You cannot just put the message in a frame and hang it on the wall. The consistent actions and behaviors of the leadership drive the culture. If the CEO wants an environment of open dialogue and meritocracy, she better be open to the team’s ideas, create an environment where the best ideas are valued, and be prepared to make sure the process is open and clear. It is a lot of work, yet worth the effort.
When you hire someone new, tell them immediately that they will make mistakes. We want to avoid them, but they will occur. Let them know that what you want in that moment is for the employee to be able to explain how they decided to take whatever action that caused the mistake. The business leader or a manager can usually pin point the flaw in the decision, than a constructive and educational conversation can take place. No fear. No retribution. Confidence and better decisions in the future will happen, if you hire well.
Your culture is developed by consistent behaviors of Leadership which encourage the same behaviors in the team. If the culture is less than what you want, look inward first. If you can change the behaviors and are willing to put in the hard work, you can clean off the patina.
