Building Your Ideal Workplace Culture

One of my favorite things to do is travel to new places with Trisha DePasquale . It’s our ideal time together.

We’ve learned to be comfortable being slightly uncomfortable with our surroundings whether that’s because of geography, language, food, wildlife, or any number of other things we don’t normally experience at home.

It’s great for personal growth but I’ve noticed it’s also terrific for interpersonal growth.

This is important because much of my work revolves around building cultures of generosity that have a deep focus on the way people interact with one another.

Every place and group has a culture whether it’s intentional, noticed, or not.

What You Need

You’ll need three things when building a culture in the workplace.

? Feelings

? Skills, and

? Thing to Do

Here’s what I mean:

You can’t have them all yourself but that’s why culture is formed by the entirety of a group.? Here are some key feelings, skills, and things that are critical to building a great culture – particularly a generous one.

Feelings:

???? Achievement

???? Compassion

???? Fulfillment

???? Friendship

???? Pressure

???? Pleasure

???? Triumph

???? Nobility

???? Passion

???? Failure

???? Health

???? Giving

???? Desire

???? Love

???? Joy

Skills:

???? Communication

???? Leadership

???? Resilience

???? Creativity

???? Curiosity

???? Patience

???? Poise

Things:

???? Collaborate

???? Accelerate

???? Innovate

???? Wing it

???? Iterate

???? Learn

???? Work

???? Redo

???? Start

???? Slow

???? Stop

???? Plan

You can’t prioritize every single one of these in your workplace culture.? Just like one of the places my wife and I have visited can’t either.

For example, some cultures are known for prioritizing family, others achievement, and still others, health.

Building

Choose 3 feelings, 5 skills, and up to 10 specific things needed in your ideal culture.? You’ll be tempted to choose ten or more of each but you’ll have to resist the urge.? Otherwise, you and your people will be spread to thin.? Less is more here.

Interactions

You, as the leader, will set the priorities.? But then, it’s up to everyone on the team to live them.? You’ll want to observe how this is being done.? Be open to the culture, kind of like visiting a new place.?

Be comfortable with things being a bit uncomfortable.

Interact with the team yourself.

Seek feedback from people.

Take notes.

And set reasonable amounts of time every week to review with your leadership team.

Bring your findings to the group and solicit more feedback.

I guarantee you’ll learn something about your people and yourself.

Evolving

No culture is stagnant.? I always find it fascinating to learn about the history of a new place I visit.? Yet, it’s even more interesting to see how the newest generation is maintaining customary practices while also creating modern ways to do things.

I’ve recently been on a long trip throughout Australia and New Zealand.? Each of these countries have quite a history.? I did my homework before going down under and learned a lot about the wildlife particularly.? Come to find out many species are endangered and a lot of my learning while in country has been about the preservation efforts.?

Some animals used to be food, they’re now a big part of conservation efforts.? Some lands were once used for agriculture, but they’re now used for housing.?

These places have evolved and so will your business.? Set those original focuses but never etch them in stone.

You might prioritize patience early in your business when you’re building but growth mode might require aggression.?

Great cultures aren’t static!

Expect yourself, your people, and your business’ culture to evolve.?

??I wish you a generous month of July and in the meantime, I’m curious to know what feelings and skills leaders are using in their businesses in the current environment.

?

Please share what’s working well for you so we can all learn from each other. ????

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Trying to build a generous workplace culture that attracts the best talent and the most loyal customers?

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