Culture is a Two-Way Street
Some ways to describe organizational culture are:
· “The collective personality of this business”
· “The way we do things”
· “The air we breathe”
Over the last month or so, I’ve been discussing organizational culture more frequently than usual with Pilea folks, and it gives me the sense that many people are worried about the same things, such as:
· Will this company be the same as it grows?
· Will the company priorities win out over people priorities?
· Can we retain what makes us special as we grow and work remotely?
· Will every person feel included and celebrated here?
· Does leadership listen?
These are all culture questions. Typically, we think about culture and the responses to these questions as falling on leadership’s plate; however, it is important to understand that, though they often begin with leadership, these issues are not solely leadership’s responsibility.
When companies are small, culture is defined in a grassroots way from the compilation of the people inside the organization. As companies grow to 20, 40, 50, 130, 300+ employees, the way culture grows changes as well. It is common for leadership to over-rely on programs, values, and “People and Culture” to create a “thriving culture.” Meanwhile, employees often expect to be the recipients of the sort of culture they want to work in.
Sound familiar?
Culture is not something you “set and forget.” Rather, it’s something that is created through every interaction, statement, question, and assumption. This means culture belongs to each and every one of us, and that it is in every moment. Just like how your personality is formed by your choices and interactions to reflect the “way you are,” the “collective personality” of an organization is formed in a similar way.
Why should you care about this?
I guess I won’t say you have to care, but if you aren’t engaged and thinking about what kind of culture you are perpetuating, I’ll be a lot less sympathetic to your complaints about the “company” not treating you the way you like. The real answer is, autonomy and the ability to impact a company are key components to job satisfaction, and many of us count ourselves out of having this kind of influence in companies. But we shouldn’t! I want to help you achieve this (outrageously high) job satisfaction so that you can contribute to building a hypergrowth company with a culture that is celebrated as much within the organization as without. We cannot achieve this without everyone being on board, though.
Again and again, we see promising, disruptive companies rocketing to success, but powered by a workplace culture that drives people into the ground.”– Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global
How do we create the culture we want?
Seek feedback. Ask and answer hard questions honestly, and LISTEN to the feedback - even if you can’t (or won’t) do anything about it right now. You don’t have to have the answer or a solution to be helpful; sometimes, “I know our project planning is pretty rough right now, and I’m sorry it’s negatively impacting you,” will go a long way.
Assume people matter when making decisions. It can be easy to make business decisions “for now” without adequately exploring what this might mean for the team. Put people’s wellbeing at the center of your business decisions, and remember that success “at all costs” usually leads to failure.
Keep your head out of the clouds. Have formal and informal conversations with people in all departments and levels of your organization. As companies grow, leadership can become increasingly isolated from people “doing the work,” so don’t let this happen to you! It is your job to bring every perspective (to the best of your ability) into decision-making.
Create transparent and brutally honest communication loops. Be humble, share with the team where you struggle, and be clear about why you are making the decisions you are making. Your team will give you more grace if you lead with vulnerability, so be the first to point out the ways leadership "missed the boat," didn't listen, or has room to improve. Build your own group of company mentors who you can regularly ask to advise you on your decision-making and inform you on the perspectives you are missing.