Leadership Culture, Values & Trust

‘Amazing things happen when you make people feel they are valued as individuals”. Herb Kelleher, President Southwest Airlines

What is an organisational culture? I like the statement made by an executive a number of years ago: “I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it”.

Perhaps more useful is the statement that: “Organisational culture refers to the system of shared meaning held by its members that distinguish that organisation from another” (E.H Schein, Organisational Culture and Leadership (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1983) p. 168). This system of shared meaning is comprised of a core set of values, which together, constitute an organisation’s culture.

Each organisation has a dominant organisational culture, the core values of which are shared by the majority of the organisation’s members. This does not however, mean that numerous sets of sub-cultures do not exist. It is the dominant culture that gives an organisation its corporate personality. A strong culture is one where the core values are intensely held and widely stated.

It is clear that organisational values cannot just be aspirational alone. They must also be simple and measurable. If they cannot be defined and measured, the employees are far less likely to believe in them and then “drive them”. It would be a shame not to optimise an organisation’s culture when all the organisation has done is fail to articulate and break down its values into measurable components.

Organisational cultures always vary, but are essentially an outward expression of a core set of common internal characteristics:

1.    Corporate history: the organisation’s trajectory inevitably creates patterns of behaviour for good or for bad. Savvy employees see this for the positive and are attracted to companies that rank highly in trust and loyalty.

2.    Dynamics of emergence: cultures change over time and evolve.

3.    Human evolution: these affect a culture, whether for positive or negative.

4.    Mix of employees: and their resultant interaction.

5.    Organisational expressions: such as messaging, corporate communications etc.

In essence, a corporate culture starts with the combined sum total of the value of its people and the resultant power generates the fuel for the forward propulsion of the company.

The seeds of a corporate culture are sown from day one. A crucial part of a successful organisational culture is ensuring that its employees are satisfactorily motivated and engaged. Every organisation is only as good as its staff. To really excel, a company needs people who share the corporate vision with supporting commitment. Trust is a big aspect in building a “culturally astute” business. Employees must be able to trust their boss and the vision set for the company. Conversely, bosses have to be able to trust their employees to execute the plan they envision the business needs. Mutual confidence is therefore essential.

The most successful companies in the world are those, which make their entire team feel like they are a critical and integral part of the company’s success. This requires creating a culture of accomplishment and sharing in the ups and occasional inevitable downs. A corporate culture is truly cemented when the whole company feels like it has a purpose.

A good corporate culture needs a strong leader, who in turn, needs good followers and an entrenched environment where positive cultural influences can develop.

Leadership models have changed over the years from (a) dictatorial (command and control); to (b) inspirational (hero); (c) supportive; to (d) equitable leadership which values everyone in the organisation regardless of position.

Leadership is a key influence on maintaining and developing an organisation’s culture. Leaders need to understand that even the strongest teams need to feel appreciated. A company’s inspiration and drive must filter down from its leader to its people who operate at the “coal face”. Despite all the ups and downs of corporate life, if the employees share the corporate passion, they are much more likely to work together for the common good. As with any successful business, employees drive the organisation through the vision and culture set by the boss.

A company is only as good as the sum of all its parts: its people, its culture and its practices. If cultural values are not constantly measured and connected to the company’s performance i.e. performance evaluation and reward system, those values will not resonate and vibrate throughout to enable the dynamics of success.

All levels of a company must be balanced in the corporate culture through a conscious and ongoing blend of the values held dearest to the company. With all the right elements held in place:

1.    Ingenuity is given the space to foster and overcome adversity;

2.    Employees tend to want to be virtuous rather than negative; and

3.    A spirit of quality and achievement will tend to permeate.

The leader is the crux of the culture in an organisation and sets the tone and dynamics of the culture. But, to filter through the organisation the culture must be understood, simple, prioritised, and, as said before, measured. Methods for achieving this include ramping up engagement and stronger relationships between co-workers, setting ongoing challenges and availing staff of constructive training and educational facilities. To appreciate this and enable an organisation to commit to these “cultural fostering tools”, leaders need high levels of emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Self-awareness

As said before, a climate of trust is crucial. Trust can be measured through results, retention and relationships. Trust has a direct and very potent relationship with a company’s bottom line.

Workplace psychology is increasingly complex. People want to be recognised as important and be in a place where they are doing something meaningful and be seen as meaningful in their roles and important as an individual. It is a big mistake for leaders to think that “one size fits all’. In fostering a culture of success, a culturally astute leader must:

1). Recognise that an employee’s contribution involves asking what the employee really needs to get the job done and provide him/her with the equipment, training and support to get it done.

2). Recognise that it is also important to demonstrate that the employee is important and that the organisation cares. This can be as simple as asking the employee “how’s life”; “how’s the family” etc.

A good way to start what I call the “trust circle” is for a leader to make a promise and keep to it. Trust is a two-way thing; both parties must be clear about their expectations of each other.

Factors for good corporate culture:

·      Recognise all employees are different, each possessing unique talents and abilities;

·      Hold intense core values and ensure they are simple and measurable;

·      Celebrate success and consistently review both formally and informally;

·      Be open and communicate effectively to increase morale and productivity;

·      Empower employees to solve their own problems;

·      Embed mutual confidence and trust;

·      Foster Teamwork, Respect, Enthusiasm, Integrity and Honesty.

Proficient CEOs in organisations, which demonstrate good corporate culture:

·      Build a genuinely unified team through collaboration (combined skill base and knowledge) and cooperation (aligned attitudes);

·      Create a genuinely enjoyable environment;

·      Foster a philosophy of “Do your best”, accepting that certain mistakes happen;

·      Develop an enduring culture- not just one for a certain occasion;

·      Produce an exemplary dynamic and competitive workforce;

·      Define and live the cultural values to filter them through and propel the company forward;

·      Ensure the employees are sufficiently compelled by the vision that they “believe” in, and enforce them;

·      Equip their company with all the programs, processes, structures and systems required to uphold and continuously improve the culture;

·      Communicate and celebrate success;

• Embrace ideas;
• Take risks;
• Keep information flow high;
• Engage frank, open and honest performance evaluation.

Simon Haigh