What Affects Your Workplace Culture?

In a previous article, I likened culture to the wind by explaining you can’t see culture but you can see the effects of it if you know what to look for and where to look.

Do you understand the factors that affect the culture of your organization?

It’s important that you do, as studies suggest a correlation between financial results and a strong, inspiring organizational culture.

If you do not thoroughly understand your organization’s culture, your organization is probably underperforming; and you’re almost certainly missing opportunities to improve results.

You might be amazed to learn all the things in your business that affect/reflect its culture.

Every leader can better understand his or her culture by observing five main areas in the organization:

People, People, People!

I have always said the three keys to my companies’ successes were people, people, people! Culture starts with people.

Think about:

– Your hiring process: Where do you look for new team members? How do you evaluate candidates? Do you consider whether their traits, beliefs and core values align with your organization?

– How you bring onboard new hires: What kind of training and orientation do they receive? How do you introduce them to your organization and the principles that you hold dear? What steps do you take to ensure that they smoothly and quickly integrate with your team?

– How you treat your people: Are they treated like assets or just “the cost of doing business”? What programs do you have in place to serve your people and reinforce your core values?

Leadership

Culture starts at the top! You and other leaders’ behaviors have a dramatic impact on your organization’s culture.

We can look to the Bible for even more encouragement and instruction about how important our actions are. In the book of Matthew, it says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16, ESV).

As a leader, you have a great opportunity to influence and shape the culture of your organization.

You shape culture through:

– What you communicate: Do you champion your organization’s core values, purpose, vision and objectives/goals? What stories do you and other leaders tell? What do you emphasize, recognize and celebrate?

– How you communicate: Do you exhibit your core values in your personal and workplace behavior? Are you consistent in living out your core values as you pursue your organization’s purpose, vision and objectives/goals?

Information Flows

The flow of information in your organization strongly affects its culture. Consider the following questions regarding your information flows:

– What kind of information is distributed in your company? Is it easy for your people to stay up-to-date about important information? This could include key metrics on company performance, new opportunities or challenges.

– How about information regarding your people? Do you highlight employee achievements, accolades and hobbies? Are major family events like birthdays, births and upcoming retirements recognized?

– Where does the information flow in your organization? It can flow vertically from one level to another. It also flows horizontally among co-workers.

– What methods and mediums do you use to communicate with your team? Do you use email or an internal web portal to keep people up to date? How do you use face-to-face meetings to communicate with your people?

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Bobby Albert started his leadership journey as the young president of his family’s 5-person business. That small business became a 150+ person organization that he eventually sold to a publicly traded company. He spent decades learning how (and how not) to lead and motivate his people. Bobby coaches and guides Christian business leaders, encouraging them to engage their minds and their hearts to improve their effectiveness. Bobby uses biblically based principles and practices to tackle the every-day challenges faced by today’s leaders.

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