Every organization would like to have successful outcomes and minimize its failures. No matter what the goal is, leaders are always on a quest to find the winning formula that brings individual and organizational growth and success.
So, what are the key ingredients, and is there an overarching force that can help this be achieved? The answer is – a winning culture.
What is a Winning Culture?
It’s been said that whether you plan it or not, you have a culture. The culture of the organizations sets the tone and is the unofficial rule book of “how things are done around here." A positive culture that promotes and facilitates winning values people and creates an atmosphere where people feel safe, valued, and successful. Even when the outcomes aren’t 100% on target, the environment stays positive and learns from the mistakes that were made.
The Importance of an Intentional Culture
If an organization is in tune with its culture and makes it the centerpiece for everything they do, it will naturally create a place where success can thrive and learning from mistakes is valued. The important factor is to be sure that you are intentionally building your culture. Have you focused on the Four Engagement Elevators of Shared Mission, People Development, Valued Voice, and Earned Trust? It is important that you focus on building a culture that does the following:
- Has a clear mission understood by everyone
- Invest in people and cares about their development
- Allows and encourages two-way communication in a safe and open environment
- Promotes transparency and builds trust
When you build a strong foundation for your culture, you can be confident it will inform and enable a strategy for success.
Strong Culture = Sound Strategy
When your culture is strong and woven throughout the fabric of the organization, a sound strategy for winning will follow. Employees feel valued and focused on a common goal with rich and meaningful communication every step of the way. Rewarding behaviors that embody the culture strengthens the organization and creates a pathway for individual and organizational success. Without the foundation, employees may feel like cogs in the wheel and may lack a clearly communicated plan for what is expected of them.
A culture that does not value employee input or clearly communicate goals and expectations is headed towards missed goals and failure. It is hard to be fully engaged and productive when we aren’t sure where we are going or what the strategic plan and vision are. In a strong culture, even mistakes and missteps can be handled in a way that still makes people feel valued and important, but when the culture is toxic, success can come at a cost, and feel like a failure.
Conclusion
Culture drives performance and informs organizational strategy. When left to its own devices and not nurtured and tended to, it can go sour and cause failure in the long run, even in the face of quantitative success.
In the end, in order to truly be successful, an organization needs to intentionally set and engage a positive and supportive culture – that’s the winning formula!
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