Leveraging Your Company Culture As A Performance Optimizer

Company culture is all the rage in today’s society. Therefore, I made a podcast episode about it.?

Today, I want to go into depth about how large corporations can leverage their company culture to optimize their performance.?

The Complicated Nature of Culture

The word "culture" often makes leaders from various industries feel puzzled. It's a term that gets thrown around quite a bit, but many people don't truly grasp what it means.?

Culture involves the intricate ways in which people within a company interact. Human behavior is complex, and our educational systems rarely teach us how to understand one another deeply. As a result, culture remains a mysterious subject for many.

Furthermore, measuring culture poses a significant challenge for most companies. They excel at quantifiable metrics like productivity, profit, and revenue – things often referred to as tactical performance.?

However, when it comes to evaluating culture, which directly influences adaptive performance (an organization's ability to adapt to challenges, innovate, and thrive), organizations find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Achieving this requires an understanding of the drivers of human behavior, along with the right methods and tools.

Common Misconceptions About Culture

One prevalent misunderstanding is equating one's personality with a company's culture.?

For example, consider the case of Dion “Prime Time” Sanders, the former NFL and MLB star turned Colorado head football coach. Sanders, despite his undeniable charisma and success, believes that culture revolves around team members simply liking each other. He seems to overlook the intricate variables that contribute to a strong and sustainable culture.

In contrast, leaders who intentionally shape their company's culture stand out from those who let culture evolve randomly based on personalities and behaviors. The former creates a solid foundation capable of withstanding changes in leadership, while the latter's culture is like a house of cards, collapsing when leaders lose their influence.

Building a Culture from the Ground Up

Legendary coaches like Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick demonstrate the power of intentionally building an organizational culture. Their organizations thrived even when key personnel changed because they had ingrained a culture that transcended individual personalities. On the other hand, leaders who lack these intrinsic skills often fail to infuse culture beyond surface-level efforts, ultimately failing to create lasting change.

Living Your Values

At its core, culture hinges on whether organizations are genuinely committed to living their values. If an organization preaches trust, support, and teamwork but tolerates toxic individuals for short-term gains, it undermines its own culture. It's a shortsighted approach that sacrifices long-term growth and sustainability for immediate benefits.

The Three Drivers of High-Performance Culture

High-performance cultures are characterized by high standards, strong relationships, and a thoughtful approach to motivating team members. The best way to motivate individuals isn't through rewards or threats, but by inspiring them to find joy, purpose, and personal growth in their work.

- Joy involves engaging in work because you love doing it, not just for rewards.

- Purpose arises when a team shares a meaningful mission.

- Personal growth focuses on developing skills and becoming a better version of oneself.

Companies that nurture these drivers create a motivated and unstoppable force.

Identifying a Strong Culture

Three key signs of a strong organizational culture are:

1. Internalized and shared values.

2. Clear behavioral norms.

3. Alignment between norms and values.

To strengthen culture further, it's essential to clarify core values, associate them with principles, and define corresponding behaviors. This clarity helps team members understand how to embody these values in their daily actions.

Organizational culture is a multifaceted, potent force that can either drive exceptional performance or hinder growth. Understanding the subtleties of culture and intentionally shaping it is crucial for long-term success.?

Want to dive deeper into the concept of Leveraging Your Company Culture As A Performance Optimizer? Check out the full episode here !

– Adolfo Gómez Sánchez

P.S. Have you listened to The Optimal Performance Podcast yet? Click here to subscribe to the show! We release new episodes every Wednesday.?