Why culture matters in every work environment
We get many questions daily about how to maintain a strong culture in a distributed or mixed work environment. The conversation often flows to, what have you done to date? And the response is often a source of fascination, we have a team fitness endeavour, we brought in a comedian, we are going to do team volunteering at XYZ, we are organizing a team wellness day, we regularly have team appreciation events, and so on.
Before we start with a series of Wisdoms and blogs on the topic, we need to agree on what culture really is, and what a strong culture means to businesses. We will then look at three practical ways to align culture with mission and values.
What culture is
Culture refers to how and why things get done. Your business’s culture reflects a combination of the acceptable behaviours, values, rituals and language demonstrated by those employed in your business. This definition makes it clear that culture affects the relationships people have with their colleagues, with the leadership team, between the leadership team members, and the relationship employees have with their work, your customers and all other stakeholders. This culture concept also determines how work is performed.
“A high-performance culture is a set of behaviours and norms that enables an organization [business] to achieve superior results, including high financial returns, leading customer ratings, and the ability to recruit and retain top talent.” The Culture Quotient, Gregory Besner.
This very simple, but powerful definition makes it clear that culture is the glue that holds the business together, an ethereal quality that will make or break your business. It can be the secret sauce, or the poison; you choose. It is also a strategic issue, not a Kumbaya with the team moment.
Core elements of business culture
- Mission, purpose and values
- Communication
- Responsibility
- Agility and resilience
- Work environment
- Inclusion
- Innovation and risk tolerance
- Wellness
- Performance orientation
- Collaboration and support
Three things you can do today to align culture with mission and values
- Make mission, purpose and values part of the everyday conversation. Talk about how we live it, what the mission means, what it does not mean, and how we recognize it in action.
- Hire and promote based on mission, purpose and values. Make questions and benchmarks related to how purpose and values are realized in daily life part of your hiring process, and a minimum requirement for promotion.
- Lead by example, as CEO, live your mission and purpose, and every aspect of your values every day. Let yourself and your leadership team be that impeccable example of how the rubber hits the road in the context of what you proclaim.
Culture inspiration from great companies
- “We try to have the kind of a culture that doesn’t value excuses in the sense that when you’re supposed to accomplish something, and you’re at a high level, then your job is to accomplish it, in spite of difficulty. And you’re rewarded for dealing with that.” Phil Libin, Co-Founder, former CEO of Evernote
- “We have a culture where we are incredibly self-critical, we don’t get comfortable with our success.” Mark Parker, CEO, Nike
- “I look for two things when I hire a new employee: ambition and humility. Without a proven track record of initiative and ambition, it’s likely the person becomes a drain rather than a contributor to the company, even the really smart, talented ones.” Justin McLeod, Founder, CEO, Hinge
- “Being a great place to work is the difference between being a good company and a great company.” Brian Kristofek, President and CEO, Upshot
What is next
We are starting a series of writings on the topic. Today was simply introducing the importance and pervasive impact of culture, and three things you can do today to align culture with your mission, purpose and values. In next pieces, we will explore how to align culture with mission and values across hiring, performance and rituals in more detail.
