Building a Great Culture
‘Great leaders build and drive great cultures. They know it’s their number one priority. They can’t delegate it. They must lead and be engaged in the process.’ — Jon Gordon, an American author, and speaker.
Isn’t it true, in sports, some teams win because they have the best players and other teams, despite having good players, regularly finish far from the top? And you must have also wondered why some teams with only average players become champions. Remember, Cluadio Ranieri of the Foxes claiming the maiden Premier League title with 100:1 odds! One part of the secret is teamwork; it does not matter how good the individual players are, if they do not operate as a team, they won’t win as many games. And the rest is how well a leader leads the team to the finishing line. This holds true for organizations as well. To build a winning team and a successful organization the leader must create a culture of greatness.
Much as leaders grapple with how to recruit the best-suited candidates and retain their existing talents, they must also rethink how they are shaping and building a great culture that unites employees around a common cause. Shaping a culture is never easy for the simple reason that many of the valuable qualities a leader might have are never taught in schools. This makes, no matter how big or small an organization is, building a great culture a formidable task. A leader must be closely aligned with the culture s/he hopes to lead. Developing or cultivating leadership is very vital in establishing the culture of the team for a great culture that emphasizes mentorship over management. So in essence, as a leader, it becomes your immediate responsibility to set the culture for the team. You must have heard the phrase ‘lead by example’ and that is because when employees in your organization are not sure what is acceptable, they simply look to their leaders for guidance.
Now, think of this situation where you have seen your reporting manager staying late at the office, and with or without choice you too have stayed just a little longer. On the other, if you happen to see your line manager frequently coming late to the office, you might not be in such a hurry to get back to your office on time when a friend of yours drops by to see you for lunch. This is where great leadership makes an impact. You, as a leader, establish a culture that enables your team to be the best it can be, and then you allow the team to take that culture and run with it. You simply can’t delegate this down to your managers. You must lead and ensure that everyone in your organization gets engaged in the process. So, the moot question that begs an immediate answer is this: are you leading from the front in shaping and building a great culture at your workplace?