What Does it Mean to Have a Positive Workplace Culture?
What Does it Mean to Have a Positive Workplace Culture?
The term “culture” seems to be a trendy buzzword that is highly misunderstood and often gets misused as a result. I see a lot of businesses use the word “culture” to describe nothing more than the perks their company offers, like juice bars or casual Fridays. But these are just that: perks. Don’t get me wrong - perks can be fun. But they don’t define the culture of an organization. So, what is workplace culture exactly?
Culture is an Environment
People tend to think of workplace culture as things that make people happy, but happiness is not what creates a good culture. Happiness is the byproduct of an effective workplace culture. Culture is an environment we create, and the right environment inspires people to feel motivated, committed, and happy. We need to go back to the meaning of cause and effect!
Your Mission Creates Your Culture
An effective workplace culture is anchored by a clear mission that goes beyond just the CEO or owner. Your company’s mission needs to be a practical cause that creates a powerful sense of purpose. A strong mission has clear and commonly accepted goals and values. It’s a cause that everyone in the organization can rally behind. When your company has a strong mission, people want to be a part of it. They show up and give their all.
For example, consider the Navy Seals. Simply speaking, the Seals have a clear mission: save the good guy and eliminate the bad guy. Every member of the team knows it, accepts it, and will give their life to achieve it. Now that’s a culture where the team is willing to give their all!
Safety and Vulnerability are Vital
If you want to create an environment where people can thrive, they must feel safe. (I am not talking about creating a hypothetical ‘safe space’.) When people feel safe, they can be vulnerable, ask questions, share ideas, and give input without fear of being ridiculed.
Vulnerability is rooted in the knowledge that we have to rely on each other. No individual has all the answers or can accomplish the mission alone.
Practical Steps for Leaders
Focus on the Cause: Ensure that your mission is clear, compelling, and shared by everyone in the organization. It should be a driving force that brings people together and motivates them to do their best. If your mission isn’t doing these things, then you need to do the work of creating one that does. In organizations where mission creates happiness, mission is the king and decisions are made first in support of the mission.
Promote Safety: People feel safe when they can ask questions and share ideas without fear of judgment, retaliation, or being ignored. They need to know that conflict is dealt with in an open, direct, thoughtful way. People feel safe when they know everyone is in it together. Within most mission driven organization its often difficult to spot who the leader is in many meetings because everyone’s idea matters.
Clear Communication: To foster that sense of safety, you need open and clear communication that keeps everyone on the same page. Goals, responsibilities, roles, and expectations should all be extremely clear. This requires an ongoing dialogue with open-ended questions. Anytime a goal, idea, or problem is discussed, ask everyone involved to restate it in their own words to make sure there’s no miscommunication.
Encourage Vulnerability: Lead by example by showing that it’s okay to not have all the answers. Ask for your team’s input on decisions and goals. Ask for help when you need it. Admit mistakes and turn them into learning opportunities. Ask for help in finding the flaws in your ideas. Have open conversations about when things work and when they don’t.
Create a Mission-Driven Culture: Make sure that every initiative and project aligns with the overarching mission of your organization. There are plenty of good ideas that simply don’t contribute to the mission and these are ultimately a distraction that leads to a lack of direction. When efforts are consistently mission-focused, everyone knows why they’re doing what they’re doing and what results they’re looking for. Mission is king!
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