Culture & Leaders’ ? You got it !
Posted on October 23, 2020 by Nidhi Mota, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
'As the king/queen, so its people'. Leadership behavior sets the culture in their teams, firms & communities. What kind of a culture are you setting ?
So often in my coaching conversations I come across leaders’ talking about people not responding the way they ought to and that they want to change their work culture.
What I find missing in many of them is the awareness of their own contribution to the cause. How their own actions & behaviors contribute to making the work culture the way it is and what’s happening around them could simply be in response to that.
A metaphor I have found useful in describing work culture is soil. Soil provides the environment in terms of air, water, nutrients, which enables the plant to take root, thrive & grow. Both soil & plants come in various types, uniquely suited to each other. So it’s a no brainer that the farmer should first decide the plant it wants to grow and then prepare the soil accordingly, not the other way round!
Sometime back I had the opportunity to coach managing director of an MNC firm in India. He was a wonderful person, brilliant at his work and had joined this firm recently. He was alarmed with the global culture survey report results which showed India among the lowest in ‘employee engagement’ in all other regions worldwide. On studying the report it was evident that all roads led to Rome – in this case himself. To understand what was happening on the ground a confidential 360 degree survey was conducted, key findings of which boiled down to a single theme that people did not feel valued & appreciated for who they were in their skin.
The coaching conversations thereafter helped client adjust his lens so he could see the landscape better and respond to it appropriately. An year later, India had improved employee engagement score 3 times over and had come up among the first on global culture survey report.
What was my learning from this experience?
Just like a drop of ink in clear water changes the color of whole water, so does tiny consistent action of leaders create significant positive or negative impact on the entire ecosystem. I realized it’s not complex. In fact it’s quite basic & possibly the reason why we miss it.
Few basics which I have seen always work in setting an inspiring work culture are:
- Know what you want. If possible draw it
- Know where you are. Collect feedback
- Establish a connect with heart before you think of connecting with mind
- Self-esteem & dignity is the first & usually the last requirement of all humans. Always maintain it
- Get real. The response you are seeking from others is usually the response others are seeking from you
- Get started. Don’t forget it starts with you & ends with you
So next time somebody tells you that your culture sucks, take a look at the above basics. You would know which one needs the most attention. Get started on it by having a discussion, modifying your actions/behavior as required and watch the response from the world change around you. Improvise as you go along and yes, don’t forget to enjoy the ride!
