HOW LEADERS CREATE STRONG CULTURE AND TEAM CAMARADERIE

We all know the phrase, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

It tells us that when visiting a foreign place (may it be a different country, town or house) -- you have to abide by the traditions, behaviour and beliefs of that place.?

The same goes for a business, a team, SME’s and Conglomerate.?

“Culture is the way we do things around here.”

Culture is the environment, the dynamics of the people, their interests, and their beliefs. Culture should be a positive thing … right??

Unfortunately, Toxic Culture is also a thing. Toxic Culture is restricting, it does not promote diversity and inclusion; Team might feel demotivated and disrespected, and other unethical behaviour may also exist.

People won’t thrive in that kind of environment, that’s why leaders should be intentional with the culture they set for their teams.?

Not just SET.

But build a CULTURE that leaders they, themselves will comply, show and talk about consistently. Going back to the highlighted quote above, “Culture is the way we do things around here.”

You can paint an idealistic, inclusive and empathic culture but if the leaders don’t walk the talk … Guess how will things turn out?

If the existing culture isn’t working, then let’s talk about what ways you can do to SHAPE CULTURE.

You might want to re-think your Brand’s Culture because it is through A strong culture that encourages positive behaviours that help team and leaders achieve a vision.

The same goes for discouraging behaviours that hinder it.?

HOW CAN WE SHAPE CULTURE?

1. SHARE VISIONARY STORIES AND WHAT THE GOAL LOOKS LIKE - This is the WHY, whether you’re working as a Business Owner, an Organization Leader, or Leading a Team. This Vision should come from the senior leader. When you want to start cultivating a STRONG CULTURE, you need first to identify what is the long-term goal that these leaders have.
2. BRIDGE THE GAP - Once the WHY is known, you have to understand the level of commitment of everyone inside your organization. This includes the consistency of leaders’ actions, claims, decision-making and the tasks that the internal team — Is it moving towards the vision or does it stop them from achieving it?
3. DOCUMENT YOUR OWN CULTURE - Creating a process for culture creates a standard for internal and external stakeholders. This documentation can be used as a refresher. Can be turned into a workshop and even motivate people to stay focused on where they are taking the organization’s vision.
4. BE SYSTEMATIC, CONSISTENT AND PATIENT - Again, building a culture takes a while before you reap the benefits. This goes hand-in-hand with #3, the need to document your own culture so you know what you can later on tweak, change, and adjust. Leaders will need to dedicate the time and resources since it will require intentionality, consistency and patience mostly from them.
5. ENSURE CONTINUITY - Culture will always change, some for the worst, but the goal is to ensure QUALITY CONTINUITY. Such as Succession Planning, Employee Benefit, Encouraging Skill Enhancement and other things. The Culture should shift as more and more quality people start hopping in on your Organization and Team.?

“Caring about your employees is one powerful way to shape culture.”

CONNECTIVITY

“Customers will never love a company, until employees love it first” — American Express, Executive?

Culture and Connectivity are highly related to one another — Culture is the shared perception and belief of people; Connectivity is the relatability and means to empathize with other people.?

Every company has a story, how it started, and the hardship it encountered to achieve it.?

Have you ever thought that employees who work for that company also become part of that story??

Regardless of what is written inside the job description, how confident are you that your employees feel like an important part of your company’s story??

It’s time to lose command and control, and this might be difficult for most leaders.

But now is a great time to embrace employee engagement.?

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ENCOURAGES EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT?

It’s the leader’s job to set the vision, strategy and values —- and then check for alignment.?

The impact of influence …?

How a leader connects with the team he influences.

A leader should check for alignment to ensure that the team has the skill and decision-making ability.

Giving them the information to help them come up with their decision and ideas.

This creates a safe and collaborative environment to boost employee engagement and confidence.?

As collaboration takes place, the leader’s role is to look for alignment.

• Are employees’ decisions aligned with the company’s vision?
• Do employees need more training or more information??
• Is this the right person for the role??

The more that you engage and connect your vision to your people already serves as an indicator of your team and organization’s success.

No matter the age group and generation differences, employees want to feel engaged with their work and have an in-depth understanding of what they want to achieve.

As you do this, commitment starts to build.

This connects your team's mind, and heart to the organization — A leader then gets to build trust, loyalty and dedication.

Not only will they value you as a leader, but they also value the work they are doing.

A powerful leadership style is teaching your team to operate and make their own decision that ALIGNS with the company vision.

This is more impactful and meaningful to them than just having a manager tell them what to do.

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To build a strong culture and team camaraderie, a leader should empower the team, and help them align their skills towards the overall vision and goal that everyone (inside the team) would want to achieve.

Above & Beyond,

Danina D.