A Healthy Work Culture Requires Senior Leaders' Focus and Reinforcement

Who is in charge of your organization’s work culture? A convincing case can be made that your culture is driven by front-line leaders . . . or middle managers . . . or your HR department . . . or team members . . . and on and on.

The reality is that senior leaders are in charge of work culture. Senior leaders work in a culture of their own creation - for better or worse.

By extension, every team leader and team member works in a culture of the senior leaders’ creation.

For better or worse.

How do senior leaders create a work culture?

Most senior leaders pay little attention to work culture. They’ve never been asked to manage a healthy culture. They likely don’t know how to manage culture. This leads to a work culture "by avoidance." Senior leaders focus on what they trust (results) and distance themselves from what they don’t understand (work culture).

Some leaders create a work culture "by whimsey." They have great intentions when they raise half-considered ideas that aren’t aligned with strategy or process, which leads to confusion, frantic activity, and little benefit or traction. Their whimsical ideas erode cooperation, momentum, results, and profits.

Some senior leaders create a work culture "by competition," where results are the only important thing. This approach leads to players taking a "win at all costs" and "I win, you lose" operational approach. In a competitive culture, it's common for players to withhold key info that could benefit everyone. Players can resort to unethical manipulation; one salesperson at a client organization encouraged clients to purchase products at year-end to boost his sales figures. He’d then arrange for those clients to return those products the next quarter. Too often, the work environment is rife with disrespectful, demeaning, and discounting interactions. In a competitive work culture, it's every person for themself.

The best work cultures result from senior leaders operating "by validation." Senior leaders who create and sustain purposeful, positive, and productive work cultures use aligned practices and respectful interactions and remove every performance hurdle. When players are treated with respect, confidence in leadership and strategy grows. Cooperation helps everyone learn how to improve service delivery and boost customer experiences. In addition, players engage in creative problem-solving that reduces waste, competition, and frustration.

Don't let your work culture be eroded by avoidance, whimsey, or competition.