Company culture is often relegated to the bottom of the priority list – to disastrous results. Leveraging well researched strategies, learn how you can create a company culture that amplifies your impact and accelerates financial growth.
Sara Sweat, MA – Founder & CEO, A Life Curated
One of the highest performing teams I was ever part of – was also one of the most fun. Our team culture was built on nothing more substantive than a desire to achieve & a shared love of sarcasm. But, I laughed nearly every day at work & we exceeded our goals quarter over quarter with ease.
As a client-facing team that racked up a lot of travel miles, our culture kept us focused on the high value activities and innovation that continued to bring clients to our events, made prospects eager to learn more, & ensured our cross functional partners were thriving. But, it’s not always like this.
From the moment a company is founded, it has its own unique culture. Even before the first draft of the vision, mission, & values are complete, our actions create a felt experience for our employees, partners, and clients.
As our businesses grow and evolve, the focus and intention we place on this invisible force is directly related to our results.
I’ve had the privilege of participating in many teams that had growth focused culture at its root. Below, you’ll find a few of the things these teams and many like them have in common.
Create Shared Purpose
Simon Sinek’s bestselling book Start with Why proposes creating value with your “why” instead of the “what” or “how” behind your solution. The fundamental belief behind this approach is that people “don’t respond to what you do, they respond to why you’re doing it”.
When building a company or team, anchoring to a shared “why” or purpose is a great place to start. When employees can connect their work to something that truly matters to them personally – that deeper meaning unlocks the motivation to communicate effectively, take risks, innovate, & collaborate well.
And, your shared purpose…doesn’t even have to be directly related to your work. Look at the Vision Statements of some of the most successful companies in the world.
Disney: “To make people happy.”
Microsoft: “To help people throughout the world realize their full potential.”
Amazon: “To be the world’s most customer centric company.”
Disney makes movies and theme parks, but when we engage with their products, it’s their “why” that we’re really buying. The same is true for your team.
If you’re a leader, invest the time to create vision, mission, and core values as a team. If you’re not – try creating them for yourself.
Foster Psychological Safety
Hyper growth requires collaboration. And, that collaboration can’t take place without a sense of psychological safety. Every consistently successful team I’ve been a part of has had it in spades. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant emphasizes its importance in fostering innovation and creativity.
He advocates for workplaces where it’s safe to speak up. Where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas, taking risks, and admitting mistakes without fear of judgment or punishment.
He says, “Blaming and shaming people doesn’t stop people from making mistakes. It stops them from admitting mistakes.” As a result, psychologically unsafe environments actually experience more failure and greater negative impacts from failure when it occurs.
When it’s safe to ask a stupid question, try an untested approach, or share an unpopular opinion – people learn. And, learning is a growth catalyst.
If you’re a leader that’s unsure if you’ve created psychological safety for your team, ask yourself when you last received feedback or news that was difficult to hear. If it wasn’t in the last couple of weeks…you may have work to do.
It’s never too late to begin. Start by asking the uncomfortable questions, honoring the answers you receive, & modeling transparency about your own failures and shortcomings.
Embrace Vulnerability
According to social worker, & researcher, Brené Brown, vulnerability is the feeling we get in the midst of “uncertainty, risk, & emotional exposure”. Can you think of any significant growth you’ve been a part of – personal or professional – that didn’t involve some level of these three elements? I’m betting not.
Embracing vulnerability allows us to build trust and connection within the workplace. And, it helps us tap into a unique strength – authenticity – to build relationships, create new approaches, and problem solve in the ways only we can.
The achievement of our growth goals will never outpace our courage. And, vulnerability is required for that.
Vulnerability looks like:
- Being willing to confidently say “I don’t know”
- Sharing your idea when you’re not sure it’s any good
- Having the difficult conversation with a colleague who upset you
- Asking for help when you need it
- Taking accountability for a poor client experience
- Accepting ownership of an outcome – even when you can’t control every contributing element
When we model vulnerability, we create the space for others to do the same. And, as Brené’s research uncovered, “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity.”
And, we could also use more of that.
Growth-focused culture is a journey, not a destination. As we grow, change, & achieve – small but important shifts will naturally occur. So, it’s important that we never stop measuring, nurturing, and creating the ideal environment for the kind of growth we want to see.
And, if we can laugh along the way…well, we’ll know we’ve done something very right.
