Most of us have to work, we need to earn money to put a roof over our heads, feed our families, to protect and provide for the ones we care about.
For many of us, work means being part of, or maybe leading a team. So naturally, we want it to be a great place to be, right? Of course we do!
A great team culture is hugely important, not least because we spend so much of our time at work, but it also influences our morale, wellbeing, and self-esteem. The culture can genuinely be the difference between someone loving their job, or hating it. Even the most mundane work tasks can be accommodated if the culture is right.
As managers, as leaders, we have a lot of things to think about but one of the first things you should be doing is focusing on creating a culture that breeds success and allows everyone to thrive.
What is culture?
There are a few definitions but ultimately, culture is the values, beliefs, behaviours, practices, language, communication, and ‘norms’ that a group of people share, making them a collective.
Why is it important?
The culture at work can make or break how people feel about working in your team, department, or organisation. It’s often more important than the work itself as many of us can handle dull, repetitive tasks in a pleasant culture but if the culture is hostile, people will want to leave even the most rewarding of work.
Every organisation has its own culture, or at least, a description of what it wants its culture to be. If the employee experience doesn’t match what you’re saying, there’s some work to be done.
As a manager, as a leader, and as a team member, everyone has a role to play in developing the culture they want, one in which they, and everyone else can thrive, which ultimately, will lead to job satisfaction and success.
In my experience – these are the 6 things to focus on:
Create a team identity
You need to create a sense of unity amongst people so they know what makes this team THIS team – i.e. in THIS team WE work for each other, WE support each other, WE nurture. In THIS team, WE do what is right for the customer, WE take responsibility. In THIS team, we are open, honest, respectful. In THIS team, WE do the best WE can.
Have core values and principles
For example, working collaboratively and with integrity are key principles that run through all my teams – we have our roles to play, we work together, and we do what is right.
You can’t dictate or force the culture. Sit with your team, talk about about what they value and how they want to work. By creating your own core values – they’ll be much more engaged and are more likely to ‘live’ the values of the team if they’re the ones that have developed how they want things to be.
“When people believe they can be better,
they put in the effort to get there”
Steve Cooper, 2022
Nurture
We all have a responsibility to nurture others, to help each other grow, to develop skills, promote self-esteem, and increase confidence. By nurturing others, you create an environment where everyone believes they can be better, feeling safe and able to try harder.
It’s like anything in life, when people believe they can be better, they put in the effort to get there. I’ve seen people who have been in jobs for 5, 10, 20 years, lack confidence in their ability – predominantly, that’s because of the culture so take time to nurture those around you.
Give permission
Managers struggle with this but, allow people to think for themselves and take responsibility for making decisions (appropriate to their role). When people feel trusted, respected, and valued, their level of input to the team culture and work output will be off the charts – trust me. I’ve done it, I’ve seen it. Allow people to make and learn from their mistakes. If people are scared of making mistakes, they’ll never feel comfortable putting in maximum effort.
Celebrate successes
Not enough is done to celebrate success. It doesn’t matter how big or small – celebrate your successes. A customer emails to say “thanks, I had a great time at the event” – share that with the team, celebrate the difference you made to that individual, the difference you, as a collective, made to that customer. If an individual is recognised in the feedback, give them a pat on the back – because it was the collective efforts of the team that allowed them to be able to do what they did. If someone’s done a great piece of work or has achieved something, give them a shoutout in front of their colleagues – let everyone know that the effort being put in is appreciated.
Keep working on it
Great working cultures aren’t created overnight – it takes time, effort, and commitment. Take the nurturing for example – if you take the time to nurture someone that needs it, whether it’s job skills, confidence, whatever, identify that need and help them with it. In time, that person will recognise a need in someone else and they will nurture that person. In turn, that person will grow and nurture someone else and before you know it – you have a team where everyone is there for everyone – if you don’t believe me, you’ve never committed to it long enough to see it through.
Regardless of your role, YOU can influence the culture of your team and workplace – the power is with you to help make it a great place to work – remember, if you think you can, you will!
Think Can Will 