What is left when we remove the things we do and the products we sell..?
Kaspar Jorgensen
Creative Content Marketing | Brand Development | Digital & AI Marketing Training
The culture code
Daniel Coyle, author of "The Talent Code" and "The Culture Code" spend years of researching why some teams are outperforming others, and how they keep developing that strong organisational team culture. An interesting topic, as we tend to neglect the importance of organizational culture and what it can bring to the table within a company.
3 Critical Signals for developing a great culture
According to Daniel Coyle's findings, it all comes down to showing three very important signals:
- Safety: Telling people they are safe, and that the company takes great care of them and that they shouldn't be worried when setbacks or mistakes occur. It's about making employees feel respected and valued, and that they won't be laid off as soon as their performance experience a drop in the spreadsheet.
- Sharing Risk: Mutual vulnerability. Moving forward as a group, and leaving nobody behind - even if the team hits a crossroad. Risks involves everyone, and not just the ones tasks were delegated to.
- Crafting Story: Shared narrative, creating a common goal and establishing a frame of shared values and behavioural characteristics.
Ask the right questions before you conclude anything
Asking staff members questions like:
- How are you feeling today?
- What happens on your best days at work?
- What happens on your worst days at work?
- What makes you feel proud of your team and the way you contribute?
Questions that give you very important data and cues. And that data should be stored, remembered and utilized in order to improve the way people feel at work, how they work together and how they contribute.
These questions are not asked in order to be able to say: "See, I've asked them questions so therefore I listen". No.
In order to prove to your staff members that you actually listen, you have to use the data you collected. You have to change, improve or shape the future setting by using the data you collected. If you don't use it and don't take action on it, it will lead to the opposite effect. Which is: "They always say they listen, and they do - but they never do anything about it".
Don't expect stardust in return for broken promises
Companies saying: "We care about our people and we listen to them very carefully" - but never really take any action on it based on what the people told them (feedback), are not honest to the concept of creating and fostering a people-culture. They think they can promise their employees all sorts of great things and never really live up to it, and still everything will be fine. No it won't. Those companies are the ones where people leave, where retention is non-existing, where people are incentivized and motivated by fancier titles and sudden bonuses. It's simply not sustainable. If you end up having people only holding on to their job because of the money, you end up hiring people only because they can do the task. And those types of companies have no outstanding nor unique culture.
Team spirit is about thinking differently, together!
Hire for attitude train for skill, or is it hire the mediocre and expect them to be super?
Don't think you can hire people with a narrative confined to a short-term focused box, and expect them to think out of the box. And if they should be so talented to be able to do so anyway - don't blame them for not being square when you left them in that box to begin with.
It's not everything that can be measured that holds value, and not everything that holds value can be measured. Be the teammate you wished you had. Be the leader you wished you had. Do the right thing and help the world become a much better place.
/Kaspar