Rashida
Teams of all sorts (sports, corporate, etc) always speak about the importance of creating a culture. So many offer the promise of ideal company culture, but how many live up to those values? Not many (according to the Harvard Business Review who estimates that only 27% of employees believe in their organization’s values).
Yikes.
So we all want a positive, empowering company culture, but we rarely believe it’s true.
What’s the hold-up?
Well, for any values to hold true, they must exist from top to bottom. Without effective leadership, company values are guaranteed to become nothing more than feel-good statements on paper.
Successful Leaders Embody Company Values
Creating a culture is more important than ever, but doing so requires commitment from effective leaders. Being a successful leader is not about wielding power or micromanaging, it’s about embodying the company culture and serving as a helpful resource.
Employees, and customers, are pretty smart. They can tell when leadership is more about crafting nice words than fostering a positive culture. When leadership doesn’t live up to the company values, things go haywire.
- Employees question the company culture.
- When employees are cynical of the stated organizational values, they lose trust in leaders.
- Damaged trust in management results in a decline in motivation.
- Ultimately, performance plummets
A study of over 1,000 firms in the Great Places to Work database found a strong correlation between corporate financial performance and the extent to which employees believed their company’s values are practiced. When leaders fail to live up to values, it will impact performance across the board.
Creating a Culture as an Effective Leader
Clearly, creating a culture is not just about the employees, it must extend to all people including the leaders. But most of the time, leaders that fail to live up to company values aren’t doing so intentionally. On the contrary, they are often so invested in the performance that they lose sight of what it means to create a culture.
Here are some ways leaders can foster a positive culture and live up to company values:
- Involve input from others in the organization when establishing company values.
- Set realistic expectations so that employees will understand if there is a deviation from the values once in a while. For example, a value may be work-life balance, but there may be a time when there’s no other option but to hold a meeting at night or on a weekend. These deviations should be rare exceptions but establish a realistic understanding with the team.
- Revisit values. Company culture is not a “set it and forget it” ordeal. You should continuously evolve values based on feedback and market changes.
- Monitor how well leaders live up to values. Compare actions with values, and ask employees for their (anonymous) input so you can get an honest opinion.
- Practice servant leadership. Being a leader is NOT about control, it’s about facilitating growth and empowering your employees for success. Ask your team what they need from you and how you can help them.
Too many teams talk about creating a culture. They define values that are more dream than reality, and that leads to unhappy, unproductive employees. Effective leadership is so much about company culture, and the best leaders live up to the values they present. Whether your team is in-office or remote, there are ways you can foster a positive, beneficial culture for all.
