You don’t need another company retreat. You just need to be ready to lead in these four moments.
I’ve always said that your company culture is the soft stuff that drives hard results.
And the numbers back it up: according to a study by Harvard Business Review, companies with strong cultures see 4x the revenue growth of those with weak ones.
But before you gear up for another company retreat to try and strengthen your culture, let me tell you something: culture is caught, not taught.
It’s built in everyday moments.
And those moments have to start with you, the leader.
If you ask me, that’s good news. It means that as you’re in meetings, walking the hallways, and chatting with colleagues this week, you can meaningfully move the needle on your culture – just by recognizing the right moments.
Here are four culture-building moments you’re likely to encounter this week, and how to make the most of them.
1. Publicly praise a behavior you want to see more of
If there’s one thing I believe more deeply than almost anything else about leadership, it’s this: recognition is one of the most powerful tools you have.
I saw it firsthand at Yum! Brands. When you consistently recognize the behaviors you want to see—publicly, specifically, and sincerely—people repeat them. And when they repeat them, others follow. That’s how culture gets built.
Former Home Depot CEO Frank Blake put it perfectly when he and I sat down together on How Leaders Lead: “Pay attention to what you recognize and celebrate in your organization, because that’s what you’re going to get.”
Your team is watching what you reward. Call out great behavior publicly, and you send a signal to everyone in the room: this is what we value here.
This week, try this:Look for an opportunity to publicly praise someone on your team when they do something that reflects your values. Name the behavior specifically. For example: “I want to recognize what Sarah did in yesterday’s meeting. She pushed back on a decision even though it was uncomfortable. That’s exactly the kind of honesty we need more of here.”
2. Surface what’s not being said
We’ve all been in meetings where you can almost feelthe tension in the air. There’s disagreement, but no one is speaking up.
If you want a healthy culture, you’ve got to be on the lookout for those moments—and then help your team surface those disagreements and discuss them in the moment.
Patrick Lencioni, who’s spent his career studying what makes teams work, calls it mining for conflict: “Look for it, like a dog sniffing for a bone. Because if there’s any unresolved healthy conflict, it’s going to later come out and be very unhealthy.”
Ask what’s not being said, and give people permission to say the thing they’ve been holding back. Then embrace the healthy debate that follows. Airing out the issues may feel uncomfortable in the moment, but it’s a key to having a healthy culture.
This week, try this: In your next meeting, listen for the moment when the room goes quiet after a decision is floated. Instead of moving on, pause and ask: “I want to make sure we’re really aligned. What are we not saying?” Then just wait.
3. Talk about a mistake you made and what you learned
A lot of leaders hesitate to own their mistakes in front of their team. They’re afraid it makes them look weak or incompetent.
But when you are open about the times you’ve gotten it wrong—and share what you learned from it—you give everyone else permission to do the same.
UPS CEO Carol Tomé does this intentionally: “If I screw up, I’m going to be the first one to call it out and also talk about the learnings from it.”
For her, this habit of being upfront about mistakes has been key to the culture transformation at UPS. Instead of minimizing issues and hoping they’d disappear, her team has felt empowered to bring them forward, fix them, and learn from them.
If you want a culture where people surface problems early and learn from failure, you have to set the example.
This week, try this: Tell your team about a mistake you’ve made professionally. Share what you were thinking and what you got wrong. Then, talk about what you learned and how you’ve applied that learning. You’ll send a strong signal that it’s OK to make mistakes and learn from them.
4. Find a way to serve your team
Trust is the foundation of every healthy culture. And nothing builds trust faster than a leader who genuinely shows up for their people.
Rob Light, Managing Partner of Creative Artists Agency, built one of the world’s most respected agency cultures around the idea that leadership is all about service. As Rob told me: “Everyone who works for me—I technically work for them. I’m there to serve them, make them better, make them stronger.”
When you take that approach with your people, you create an atmosphere where trust and respect come first. People feel seen, valued, and supported to do their best work.
This week, try this: Instead of starting your one-on-ones with a status update, open with this: “What’s getting in your way right now? What can I do to help you succeed?” Then do something about what you hear. That posture of service is powerful.
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Remember: culture is caught, not taught.
Your team might learn culture from a value statement.
But they will absorb culture from you. They’ll do more of what you recognize. They’ll speak up because you made it safe to. They’ll own their mistakes when they see you own yours. And they’ll show up to serve the people around them because they know that’s what you do for them every day.
These four culture-building moments are just a starting point. So let me hear from you: what day-to-day opportunities help you drive culture at your organization? Drop a comment and let me know!
Source: https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-leaders-guide-to-corporate-culture