In the corporate jungle, there’s one beast that everyone’s trying to tame – company culture.
It’s that elusive, invisible force that drives everything from employee engagement to bottom-line profits, writes Craig Raath, master reward specialist (SARA) and executive director at 21st Century.
But here’s the million-dollar question: When it comes to hitting the reset button on culture, who’s in the driver’s seat? Is it the leadership steering the ship, or are the employees working the oars?
Spoiler alert – it’s both, but not in the way you might think.
The Leadership Gambit: Setting the Stage, but Not the Script
Leadership often views themselves as the great sculptors of company culture, chiselling away at the marble of mission statements and core values until the perfect corporate statue emerges. And yes, leaders do play a pivotal role. They set the vision, establish the norms, and yes, they sign the pay checks.
But here’s the catch – if they think they can dictate culture from the top-down, they’re in for a rude awakening.
Steps for Leaders:
- Empower Ownership: Create an environment where employees feel like co-owners of the culture. This means establishing a culture of ownership and accountability that permeates the entire organisation.
- Engage Continuously: Move from formal annual reviews to frequent, informal check-ins. The shift from manager to mentor is critical—regular feedback sessions can be the difference between a stagnant culture and a thriving one.
- Drive Fairness: Revisit policies and procedures regularly to ensure they promote fairness and inclusivity. Leaders should aim to remove any potential for bias or unfair advantages within the organisation.
- Build Trust: Foster a culture of psychological safety where employees feel comfortable voicing their ideas and taking risks without fear of negative repercussions.
The Employee Engine: Owning the Culture
Now, let’s flip the script. What happens when employees see themselves not just as workers, but as co-owners of the company culture? This shift from being just another cog in the machine to being an active participant is where the magic happens.
Employees who feel a sense of ownership over their work environment are more engaged, more innovative, and, let’s be honest, more fun to work with.
Steps for Employees:
- Be Proactive: Stop waiting for instructions – start making things happen. Employees with an owner mindset take initiative, make decisions that benefit the business, and constantly look for ways to add value.
- Embrace Accountability: Own your role and the outcomes of your work. This means being consistent in your efforts and being prepared to learn from mistakes rather than making excuses.
- Engage in Continuous Learning: Seek out opportunities to expand your skills and contribute to the company’s success. Whether it’s through formal training or on-the-job learning, the more you know, the more you can influence the culture.
- Give and Receive Feedback: Don’t shy away from feedback and be open to giving it as well. This two-way street helps to ensure that the culture remains dynamic and responsive to both challenges and opportunities.
Alignment: Bridging the Gap Between Leadership and Staff
A culture reset can only be successful when leadership and staff are aligned. This alignment ensures that everyone is rowing in the same direction, with a shared understanding of goals, values, and expectations. But alignment doesn’t happen by accident—it requires intentional effort from both sides.
Steps to Achieve Alignment:
- Communicate with Clarity: Leadership must clearly communicate the company’s vision, values, and goals. This involves more than just an email or a meeting in the boardroom—it requires ongoing dialogue where employees feel heard and involved in shaping the culture. Consistent and transparent communication helps to bridge any gaps and fosters a sense of unity.
- Shared Purpose: Cultivate a shared sense of purpose by linking individual roles to the broader company mission. When employees understand how their work contributes to the overall success of the organisation, they’re more likely to align their efforts with company objectives. Leaders can reinforce this by regularly acknowledging how individual contributions support the bigger picture.
- Mutual Respect: Build mutual respect between leadership and employees by recognising and valuing the unique contributions of each team member. This means not only recognising achievements but also respecting diverse perspectives and ideas. When employees feel respected, they’re more likely to align with leadership and contribute positively to the culture.
- Collaborative Goal Setting: Involve employees in the goal-setting process. Rather than imposing top-down objectives, leaders should collaborate with staff to set goals that are challenging yet achievable. This collaborative approach ensures that goals are aligned with both the company’s strategic vision and the employees’ personal aspirations, creating a powerful alignment of interests.
- Feedback Loops: Establish continuous feedback loops where both leadership and employees can share insights and concerns. Regularly soliciting and acting on feedback not only improves processes but also demonstrates that leadership values employee input. This mutual exchange fosters alignment and drives a cohesive culture.
The Real Reset: It’s a Partnership
So, who’s responsible for the culture reset? The truth is, it’s a partnership. Leaders lay the groundwork, but it’s the employees who bring it to life. It’s a dance between structure and spontaneity, vision and execution. And when done right, it doesn’t just reset the culture – it reinvents it.
In our current fast-paced business environment, where expectations are higher than ever, companies that get this balance right will not only survive but thrive. So, here’s to the next culture reset – may it be one where both leaders and employees take the wheel, steer the ship, and enjoy the ride.