Your company culture is like our spinal cord.

Our spinal cord serves not only as a pathway for nerve impulses to and from the brain, but also as a center for operating and coordinating reflex actions independent of the brain. It also holds our vertebrae together, providing structure and movement to our bodies.

Each vertebra stems out horizontally from this vertical line. They all have their own functions, but they all are still born out of the same structural basis. I like to see company culture as a spinal cord. With a strong set of values, our company culture provides structure, discipline and rigour whilst guiding our decisions and actions on a daily basis.

Think of culture as our spinal cord and our vertebrae as the actions and decisions we take and make every day. Establishing a "spinal cord" culture early on can be make or break for any business scaling, so here are 5 ways leaders can establish culture remotely as a company scales.

🔸 Focus on Building Trust and Team Belonging

Getting employees' buy-in and cooperation is critical to maintaining company culture, so building a people-first, trustworthy environment must be a core priority for leaders in scaling businesses. Because physical distance can easily create emotional distance, employee well-being, and psychological safety are essential building blocks for company culture. Finding ways to foster connection and make employees feel involved, supported, and safe will boost how your teams live out the organization's values.

🔸 Make Values the Compass

Having all employees on the same page requires intentional effort and constant communication of core company values, mission, and vision. Culture must continuously be reinforced and embedded into daily operations and processes to ensure business values act as a compass for everything employees do. Making sure that company values are integrated into all aspects of the organization, from hiring and onboarding to performance evaluations and daily tasks, will help maintain a culture that reinforces your values as a part of the organization's DNA.

🔸 Use Technology to Support Culture

Using the right tools and strategies, leaders can maintain a culture that aligns with their company's values and encourage employees to embody these in their work. Offering tech tools that provide employees with a comprehensive onboarding experience, training and development opportunities, and recognition for their efforts is an effective way to reinforce company culture and make employees feel like part of a team. Technology is a true enabler, allowing culture to be regularly communicated and available to your people every time.

🔸 Get to Really Know Your Teams

Leaders who learn about their teams can establish a company culture in which employees feel valued and empowered to perform at their very best. Understanding individuals allows leaders to deliver against their team's needs and leverage their greatest strengths. Sustaining a solid culture is based on bilateral respect, trust, and alignment toward shared goals. Identifying individual capabilities enables you to acknowledge employees' needs and expectations and use those insights to motivate the team to work as one.

🔸 Encourage Connections in the Work Environment

Work relationships are directly related to employee well-being and can either positively or negatively affect team performance. Connection is about relating to other perspectives, collaborating harmoniously, and nurturing a healthy relationship. Connected teams have a common goal, promote knowledge-sharing, and want to help the business and their colleagues thrive. Creating opportunities for employees to connect is a great way to build a solid and rich culture, as people who feel in synch with their work environment tend to be aligned with the company’s values, mission, and goals.

A baby's spinal cord is developed when still in the womb. When it doesn't develop properly, a baby can suffer from from Spina Bifida which causes a gap in the spine. We don't want a gap in our business, so make sure you think of culture early on so that your start-up develops strongly from the start. Or from the "womb".