Culture is a Mirror of Leadership

You’re probably tired of the word culture by now right? Why are we talking about it so much?

Well, according to MIT Sloan Management Review, “A toxic culture is 10.4 times more likely to contribute to attrition than compensation.”

Just to put this in context, out of the 170 topics the researchers measured with their Culture 500 companies, compensation ranked 16th among all topics in terms of predicting employee turnover.

Are we nearing the end of the golden handcuffs era and arriving to the rise of people-first leadership?

Without supporting data to confirm, we can take the reputation of those on the left below (apart from Boeing), to be that of well-documented focus on people-first workplace cultures against their peers with “less” of a focus on culture.

With a shortage of top talent, how many open recs do you think Netflix has? That’s just not sustainable given the current state of affairs with a shortage of top talent and competition for the few there are. A great case of basic economics. There is more demand than supply. The supply can now dictate their terms and they have. Give us a culture that is people first!

The data comes from the analysis of 34 million online employee profiles to identify U.S. workers who left their employer for any reason (including quitting, retiring, or being laid off) between April and September 2021.?They also combined this with the analysis of the free text of more than 1.4 million Glassdoor reviews. This data enabled them to estimate company-level attrition rates for their?Culture 500. Not too shabby.

Therefore, culture is important. It is why we are talking about it so much. It’s why you are seeing it all over LinkedIn when it comes to those job hunting.

Let’s talk about attrition for a second. Between April and September 2021, more than 24 million American employees left their jobs, a record high. I think we all are aware that people are quitting. We cannot deny that and there seems to be no end in sight. The data suggests that until we fix the toxic cultures that we’ve built over the last 30 years or so, folks will keep on leaving till they find the culture that fits their expectations. And why not!? Good for them. We must accept that times have changed. The new generations have forced our hand, and that’s ok.

If you’re a leader, think of the best people on your team right now. The ones you rely on the most to get the results you need. Got them identified? Okay. How would you feel if they quit tomorrow? I can guarantee replacing them would be just as painful as losing them.

First, a proud moment—DX has not had anyone quit since 2019.

I touched upon this in my last newsletter. The main reason? I deliberately put culture as the #1 priority in changing the way we lead each other, and it starts and ends with me. DX's culture is a mirror of my leadership.

Let’s distill this into something actionable for all leaders: the right culture is the #1 predictor of retention. What does the right culture look like and what can I do? Whether you support a team of 1 or 1,000, there is a lot you can do to keep the good ones.

I love this Forbes article from 2019 that speaks to this notion of culture is a mirror of leadership. Even in 2019, 45% of job seekers put culture as their #1 deciding factor. This is not new stuff, but it helps make this sometimes-murky word of culture, and frame it in something simple and applicable.

• Keep it simple stupid. A handful of values and behaviors please!
• Culture is a mirror of leadership. So behave in the way you expect others to!
• That’s it. So, if you are a leader reading this…culture is a mirror of YOU.

You can control the culture of your team no matter how big or small, as it’s a reflection of what you believe (values), how you behave (demonstration of your values), and how you hold others accountable to those values. Even if you work in a toxic culture, you can take it upon yourself to create a people-first culture. The bigger the variation in what you say versus what you do, the more damage you do to those you serve. Toxic culture really comes from anti-human values where the focus is on the financial results, versus on the humans who get the results.

So, what can we do? Culture is all about leadership.

Employees want a care package. But what does that mean? If employees feel cared for at work, they are …..? What does that mean?

Let’s put this into the basic survival needs of every human.

What is the primary purpose of the brain? Hope you replied, survival. It’s a survival machine designed to keep YOU alive. Your brain is literally playing tricks on you every day to keep you alive. This is not great for leadership because good leadership is people-focused. Good leadership is about keeping YOUR TEAM alive. Hence why we have so few great leaders and why culture is a problem. Most of us have no idea we have 165 biases playing tricks on us and causing blind spots that lead to selfish leadership habits, which can eventually create toxic work cultures. So of course, self-awareness is needed. You can read more about that here in my Forbes article. But let’s focus on "CAREing" for your teams and combating perceived toxic cultures.

Let’s basically feed the brains of those we serve with the ingredients that their brains crave for survival purposes and give them a daily ‘care package’.

C stands for Clarity. Every brain craves clear expectations and alignment. 15,000 years ago it needed clarity for survival purposes. We needed to know where it was safe to eat who was on saber tooth tiger watch because if we didn’t know these things it meant death. We’ve just swapped out saber tooth tigers for bosses. The same rules apply though. Starve your team of the clarity they crave, and they will feel the toxicity of cognitive and emotional stress (which is the same as physical stress). So be clear. Ensure you value giving clarity and not leaving ambiguity to fester within a team.

A stands for Autonomy, the control of the environment that every brain craves for survival. If it’s cold, we find or create warmth. If there’s a storm, we seek shelter. Not doing so leads to dangerous consequences. Now, depriving your team of autonomy creates the same responses as those natural threats. You’ve got to trust your team, giving them control and allowing them a sense of collaborative decision making. Don’t wield your power over them because if they have no control, they have no reason to stay on your team.

R stands for Relationships, a sense of belonging to the group. If we aren’t valued on a team, we must face fending for ourselves by ourselves. Leadership that starves a team of relationships (human worth), will create a culture of judgment and toxicity. Instead, be empathetic to your team members. Get to know them as people and make them feel valued and seen. Do this and just watch as their connections to each other and you grow.

E stands for Equity, a sense of fairness. If we deprive or don’t gather enough resources for those we care for, it negatively impacts them. The same goes for your team. Neglect their need for the fair distribution of resources to where they are needed most and reap the follies of your actions. Instead of assuming what they need or treating them the way you treat yourself, ask what they need so it can be provided and treat them how they are asking to be treated. Assuming only makes an … well you know the phrase.

And that is how we can CARE for those we serve. That is how we stave off toxic work cultures, by ensuring we value what every human being values.

CARE is a universal approach to people-first leadership. Regardless of gender, race, nationality, and/or work environment, we all need to be CARE’d for.

Ensure clarity, autonomy, relationships and equity?, are part of your daily leadership routine. And remember, it's not that easy. There are 165 biases that blind you from CAREing for others.

We are all selfish, but leadership is about being selfless.

A group of selfish leaders will create a toxic culture that has high attrition rates. A group of selfless leaders who CARE, will create a culture worth working for.

Which do you want to create and take part in?

If you got some insight from this article, please comment on what that was, and share with others. Lets build a people-first movement.

Alex is CEO and Founder of DX Learning. We are committed to wiping out bad leadership through working with clients to educate and motivate leaders to put their people first.

Want to find out more about CARE? Ask for a demo and send a message to Alex

Ask Alex to speak at your conference, event or meeting.

Look out for his book, “The CARE Equation”, coming out soon.