People-First and Business-Oriented Are Two Side of the Same Coin: How to Create a Winning Culture for All

People success and business success are two sides of the same coin.

At work, one can’t happen without the other and when it does the results are mediocre, at best. People success and business success are mutually interdependent. They need of one another to thrive and, together, they create a multiplying effect that is much more powerful than what each of them individually could achieve.

Sadly, a lot of us have witnessed the dichotomy of: if we focus on people, we will get distracted and will not be able to deliver value for the business; but if we focus just on the business, we will not be able to do the right thing for the people, let alone create a people-first culture.

Well, in reality, this is a nonsensical dichotomy. It is not one thing or the other, it is both. It is absolutely possible to focus on people and business, simultaneously, and deliver for both, simultaneously.

For example, an organizational culture in which people are treated with respect, with more meaningful connections to their colleagues and leaders, and where they receive appreciation and feel that they belong, is one in which employees have significantly higher levels of satisfaction and engagement, which impacts productivity, performance and retention. How difficult was that? How difficult was to find a connection between people success and business success?

A business that doesn’t care for the people will never receive the best out of them, even if they pay them more than any other company, but people who don’t care for the success of their organizations will not experience further opportunities for advancement and actually deter the success of the organization.

This is the way I like to see it: if your company is making money today, only with 20% of the employees engaged (and the other 80% either disengaged or actively disengaged), imagine the possibilities if it was 80% of the employees who were engaged.

Building a people-first culture is not distracting. It is part of building a successful business. A people-first culture is, simultaneously, a more business-oriented. There’s no dichotomy. They are not diametrically opposed to each other. They are variable in the same equation for success. Evidently, building a people-first culture that delivers value for the business requires work. Hard work. And this is why so many business leaders opt out: because they don’t want to put that work in. It’s easier to continue to do things as they are than to transform things to make them better. Those leaders are shortsighted, because they are missing out on a whole world of almost infinite possibilities.

That’s why I say this: if you are content with getting a little "something" from people's full talents and potential, then ignore this write up. Just continue doing what you are doing and you will continue to get what you are getting.

However, if you believe in limitless possibilities for business and people, then focus on building a people-first culture, because it will also deliver value for the business.

Fundamental Pillars

There are some fundamental pillars of a people-first culture. To create a people-first culture that is also business-oriented, consider these pillars as your action plan for cultural transformation:

• Culture is about the way people interact with each other and get work done
• The best culture in the world must be "best" for you (and that means it may not be "best" for other organizations)
• Culture isn't an office or some fun perks
• Culture has to be role modeled by all leaders
• Everything leaders do (positive or negative) for culture trickles down to the rest of the organization
• Culture is only genuine and sustainable when reflected in the everyday interactions of people with one another
• Culture is not static. It’s alive. Make sure you allow space for change, flexibility and adaptability
• Culture needs psychological safety as the mechanism to stay relevant and updated
• Today's culture must be considered "upgradable", never a final product
• Culture is how you deliver results, not a bureaucratic layer to look cool
• Culture must be constantly celebrated to reinforce its core tenets
• There isn't a "one-size-fits-all" Culture. Don’t copy models. Be informed by benchmarks, but create your own thing
• Mental health and well-being are essential to a healthy culture
• Culture is also about how direct leaders/managers treat their people
• Culture is reflected in the way leaders and everyone make decisions
• In the era of immediate and constant information about everything, culture is the brand
• You must be transparent to potential new employees about your existing culture (and how or why it changes)
• Trust is the primordial molecule that makes a great culture a great culture
• Culture is the people, therefore, culture can't be created, shaped or transformed without the people
• Culture is founded on integrity and transparency
• Customers "feel" the culture (either how good or bad it is)
• Culture fosters belonging, one of the fundamental human needs
• Culture isn't fluffy or soft. It’s how work gets done, thus, essential for performance and productivity
• Inclusion is the glue that keeps culture together
• Culture champions (people who everyone respects at work) can have a huge influence on how culture is embraced by all
• Culture thrives when people have the opportunity to create strong and meaningful connections at work
• Culture doesn't mean running away from tough choices and decisions, but culture inspires people to make tough decisions with transparency, respect, dignity, humanity and kindness
• Culture isn't everything you do, but everything you do impacts and influences culture

The Agenda: How to Build a People-First Culture

These are five of the most important building blocks of a people-first culture:

Leadership: incidentally, a people-first culture is also a leaders-first-culture for two reasons. The first, leaders are people . The second, because leaders are the most important agents of cultural transformation and cultural embodiment. A company can say it has the best culture in the world, but unless the leaders are living up to that promise, then it really isn’t the best culture.

Respect: a people-first culture is a culture of respect, where people are treated with dignity. Respect is one of the most powerful drivers of inclusion and belonging, which have an impact on productivity and performance.

Recognition and Appreciation: a people –first culture requires gratitude, recognition and appreciation. With gratitude, high levels of job engagement and satisfaction are sustainable.

Inclusion and belonging: imagine all the ideas that are hiding in someone’s head at work because they don’t feel included or safe to come forward and express them out loud. Imagine all the collaboration opportunities that are missed, lost or mismanaged because people don’t feel that they belong and that their connections at work are not meaningful. Imagine all you lose… Now, the flipside: create a culture of psychological safety, inclusion and belonging, and you will have the basic ingredients for a people-first, but also business-oriented culture.

A positive work environment: A positive work environment is one in which people are cared for beyond their condition as “employees”, but in their totality as a human. For a positive work environment to emerge and thrive, employees must feel safe, included, respected, treated with kindness and compassion by their peers and leaders, accepted and embraced by everyone, and have a strong sense of belonging to the organization. People in a positive work environment see their own success as an extension of the success of the organization. Again, people-first = business-oriented. 

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By Enrique Rubio, Founder of Hacking HR

(Note: I write fast, speak fast and read fast. Sometimes - often times - I don't see the typos! Please let me know if there are typos or grammatical misconstructions in my write ups. It happened to Shakespeare, it certainly can happen to me. Do so with kindness, compassion and grace, though. I appreciate it!)