Organisational culture is not an isolated thing in business. It is a result of how we lead and how we team. To change culture, we need to change how we lead and how we team.
Recent research has revealed some shocking statistics on how leadership influences organisational culture. They found:
Employee loyalty is decreasing
Leadership lacks self-awareness
Employees lack direction
Employees aren’t being recognised and don’t feel valued
Employees view the organisational culture as mediocre
So what can we do? What action can we take to ensure our leaderships’ influence on organisational culture is a positive one?
Listen to your organisation, a simple way to start is with an employee pulse survey
Gain clear information on expectations, together as a united leadership team
Share your future dreams and goals for the organisation. Set team aspirations and goals – create shared meaning
Take the time to recognise good work, regularly - it's also a great gratitude practice
Let your team know how important they are to the cause and how they contribute
As a leader, influence organisation culture by building self-awareness, know your strengths, share more of you and ask for feedback
As an organisation, invest in developing leaders to invest in culture
Have trust play center stage in the business
Trust is leadership hygiene. An essential first step in influencing organisational culture through teaming and leading. Language, actions and mindset have an impact. When we are skeptical, withhold or limit information, exclude or don't follow through, this ultimately impacts levels of trust in the business.
So where to start if you want to change the organisation culture of your business through leadership?
Take a pulse check on your people with an employee pulse survey. Ensure you are business ready and this means the organisation has a shared meaning and is aligned on strategy. Ensure leaders see feedback as valuable and have the capacity (and tools) to act on the feedback. Use an employee pulse tool to create ongoing insights, with the right measures and invest in the development of your leaders.
Why does this matter? We know from decades of research that discretionary effort is achieved, innovation fuelled, loyalty cultivated, and financial return positively impacted when elements of high performance exist in your culture. And the future of business relies on innovation and financial uplift.
PeopleQ is a certified leadership coach and ICF member, and the founder of PQfactor an employee pulse tool focused on the intangible elements of an organisation that cultivate a high performance culture. Talk to us today to understand how we can support you to positively impact culture.