The art of inspiring people is almost an act of magic. That ability to make hearts surge, to electrify minds, and to infuse souls with the drive of shared purpose is the holy grail of leadership. Politicians evoke it with their words but good corporate leaders achieve it by creating extraordinary companies.
Every successful company is more than the sum of its parts. Strip away the façade of human resources numbers, the value of assets and the illusions of marketing and you are left with its pulsing core: company culture.
Reinventing Company Culture
No single version of company culture fits two different organizations exactly. A company may even find that it needs to evolve its native culture as circumstances change. The global Covid-19 catastrophe is the perfect example of such a scenario. Fortunately, its widespread and continuing disruption presents the perfect cover for a culture pivot.
Reevaluation
Just like a change of terrain reveals a vehicle’s true capabilities, today’s shifted work landscape has been an eye-opener on company culture for the observant leader. Does this fresh perspective align with your vision for the organization? Is it true to the ideals on which the company was built? Ask yourself the incisive questions that lead to revelatory answers.
Recruitment
First impressions last. The initial perceptions of company culture that employees deduce are difficult to recalibrate. Use this to your advantage by instilling the core values that you wish for them to espouse as soon as a new employee joins the team. Re-onboard current employees with these values and pair them up with new recruits to reinforce the right concepts. As leader, consider face-to-face sessions with the team to foster team spirit.
Reward
Human beings are overtly Pavlovian by nature and positive reinforcement is one of the most effective tools at a leader’s disposal. The question then becomes whether you are rewarding behaviors consistent with the culture you wish to inculcate. For example, do you prefer employees to secure a large volume of sales or to nurture fewer but longer-lasting business relationships?
Respite
While we already have an idea of the disastrous economic consequences of Covid-19, we have only begun to uncover the extent of its repercussions on mental health. Workers the world over are teetering on financial ruin while uncertainty over employment, health and civil unrest weighs heavily on millions of minds.
Reinforce a culture of empathy and solidarity with your team. Offer in-house counseling to alleviate unnecessary concerns and counter irresponsible soothsayers. If that is outside your resource limitations, point them in the direction of government agencies and charitable organizations that offer these services. Meanwhile, be sensitive to the unique demands of remote work and the overlapping responsibilities it necessitates.
Your efforts to align company culture with your ethos in these trying times will not go unnoticed. It is the perfect stage to showcase your commitment to the team and give them a reason to unite and to emerge stronger, together. Please contact me if you would like to discuss this topic further.
