“I don’t know everyone’s name. I’m embarrassed because I think I should know their names.”
When I interviewed the president of a big insurance firm, I didn’t realize that I’d strike a nerve so soon after our conversation began. This was years ago, but my recollection is powerful.
What critical success factors do you monitor closely in your business?
Most leaders I speak with tell me they primarily watch performance metrics—widgets out the door, services sold, installations, market share, profitability, and the like. Customer service rankings come in a distant second.
What’s the condition of your organization’s culture? Every organization has one. From a small business to a multi-national, it’s got a culture. From a team to a department to a division to a region to a country, it’s got a culture.
What are your beliefs about organizational culture? Some of your beliefs might inhibit your willingness and ability to proactively improve the quality of your work culture.
New clients ask me very similar questions when I start guiding them along the path to a powerful, positive, productive culture. Some of your beliefs might be challenged by my answers! Here are those questions and my responses.
Have you ever been a part of a company merger, where your company acquired a competitor or your organization was acquired by another one? If so, you probably experienced the difficulty of such mergers or acquisitions to generate positive value for shareholders, owners, and employees.
How do leaders and team members treat each other in your workplace today? Do they interact respectfully and civilly . . . or aggressively and selfishly . . . or somewhere in between?
When I ask leaders this question, they typically respond with “Well, I think they treat each other OK.” They are not confident in their perceptions because they don’t pay enough attention to the quality of workplace interactions.
We’ve had amazing weather in the US this spring. The middle of the country is inundated with too much rain while California suffers the worst drought in recorded history. Europe is experiencing warmer storms than normal while the eastern Mediterranean is dealing with snow.
An organization’s culture is more like the weather than you might think. It’s tangible and real. You can look out the window to gauge the weather. You’ll get a better idea of the weather if you go outside to feel how warm or cold or humid it is.
Is your workplace inspiring, engaging, and productive or frustrating, dull, and stagnant? Or is it somewhere in between?
Effective leaders pay attention to the quality of their work culture, every day. They know that culture drives everything that happens in their team or department or company, good or bad. They invest time and energy observing interactions, engaging with players and customers, celebrating aligned behavior, and coaching misaligned behavior.
Unfortunately most leaders don’t pay much attention to the quality and health of their team, department, or company culture.
Most leaders can describe the values of their organization, but fewer are successful at ‘walking that talk’. In fact, as communication increases about an organization’s values, there’s a greater risk that employees and customers will become cynical. Why? Because the gap between the ‘walk’ and ‘talk’ is always more visible than we think. As anyone involved in a culture change process will know, it takes time and effort to align these two.
So what are some of the quickest ways a leader can recognize that gap and take the responsibility required to do something about it?
