Creating a map
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the eight Culture challenges that most companies face (if you missed it, go take a look at The eight culture challenges to catch up).
With so many common issues lying in wait for the unsuspecting leader, it’s perhaps no surprise that high-performance culture eludes most. Now that you’re aware of where the traps are set, you have a better chance of avoiding them, but knowing which paths not to take isn’t enough. You need to chart the route that does lead to your destination as well.
There are only really four fundamental things you need to do to create a brilliant Culture: recruit the right people, engage them, develop them and retain them. Actually executing those things is a little more complicated, but clues can be found by studying companies who’ve seen success already.
To start with, great companies recognise that team and Culture are central to their business performance. It’s easy to forget this in the midst of your day-to-day pressures. Culture isn’t usually urgent, but it’s always important, and it must be proactively, deliberately shaped and enhanced to give you the best chance of avoiding failure and delivering on the promise of your research. To create a true high-performance business, you must carve out time to work on Culture and protect that time with religious zeal. There will always be a more pressing emergency and you won’t necessarily see the results of your efforts straightaway, but over time they’ll be profound and unmistakable.
The very best groups never compromise on Culture. We’ve all cut corners, overlooked bad behaviour and made concessions in the name of expediency. It seems minor at the time, not worth the hassle of the difficult conversation or decision that’s required. Without fail, though, these exceptions will come back to bite you. It might happen quickly or it may take years, but you get what you tolerate and that hire you made, the off-colour remark you ignored or the drop in standards that you failed to address will have their day eventually.
World-class Cultures don’t appear overnight. The companies that build them start by recognising where they are and beginning their journey from wherever that is. It’s like planting trees - the best time to start work on your Culture was right before you launched the company. The second best time is now.
I’m often asked, “how big should we get before we start thinking about Culture?” The answer is always, “however big you are now.” It’s not too late, or too early, to begin crafting an environment that drives your success, but it’s not going to happen by itself. The more you delay, the worse issues will become and the longer it will take to see a positive impact. So wherever you are right now is absolutely fine. Be honest about where you stand and take the first step on your journey to High Performance Culture today.
When there’s a problem or they encounter a challenge, the best of the best will always ask if there’s a Culture issue at its core. Sometimes, problems stem from the strategic decisions you’ve made and the tactical approach you’re taking. More often, it’s not the plan that’s the issue but a lack of high quality execution. If things aren’t being done properly, enough or at all, there’s a good chance that Culture lies at the heart of why. Because Culture touches almost every element of your business, at each roadblock it’s critical to consider whether your people and environment are factors in the results you’re getting (or not getting).
And when they uncover a Culture problem, great companies take action to solve it. All Culture issues have a solution - some are just more painful than others. Every time, there’s a way to correct the root cause of the problem, but it takes action. Rarely do Culture problems get better on their own and they usually deteriorate if left unchecked. There’s not always an easy solution, but there is always a solution, so it’s on you to take the necessary (often painful) steps required to cure your maladies and move forward positively. It’s rarely as bad as you expect, and no matter how acute the pain in the moment, things will be better afterwards.
Finally, most importantly, truly outstanding organisations define the Culture they want, are honest about where they are today and they take deliberate action, consistently, to close the gap. Changing your Culture is like going on a journey. You need a map. And for any map to be useful, you need to know two things - where you’re going and where you are. It’s the same with Culture. Getting absolute clarity on the kind of company you’re trying to build by creating a cultural vision is the critical first step. Finding out exactly where you are is the next. It can be difficult to pull back the curtain on your business and shine a light into the dark corners you’d rather not investigate, but if it’s success you’re after that’s what you’ll need to do.
It’s also essential to understand that the Culture you think you have in your organisation may not be what actually exists. As a leader, the picture you have of what really happens in your company has likely been formed through filtered information. People will tell you one of three things - the truth, what they think you want to hear and what they feel will get them the result they want. Even when you get the truth, you’re only getting one version of it, so gathering feedback on the real culture of the business, ideally through a third party, is the only way to develop an accurate picture.
Once you’ve gained true clarity on where you want to go and where you are now, you can start to determine what steps you need to take to reach your destination. It’s likely that there will be many, many steps on your journey. There’s no short path to an exceptional culture, and it’s only through deliberate, consistent action that you’ll get there. The good news is that you don’t need to know the entire route to get started - just the first few directions.
To help you on the way, we’ve created the High Performance Culture Scorecard. If you haven’t taken it yet, it’s completely free, takes less than three minutes and will give you an immediate Culture Score, providing clarity and clear next steps. Come take the scorecard now at https://scorecard.versapia.ai