A study from Deloitte proves companies with a leadership culture are nine times more likely to be good at identifying and developing leaders than those lacking a leadership culture.
What is a leadership culture?
Companies reflect the ethics of the leaders who run them. Anita Roddick founded the Body Shop to show that you could build an environmentally friendly corporation that reflected her commitment to environmental activism. Jim Goodnight’s commitment to work-life balance is part of the culture at SAS, the largest privately held company in the world. Jack Welch’s commitment to being the best created an environment of excellence at General Electric. In each of these cases, the ethics of the leader became a central part of the culture.
It’s about aligning culture with personality.
Paul English is the CEO and founder of Lola a mobile app that combines AI with human travel agents to plan and book trips. Paul is an introvert and became a million-dollar founder. His success stems from those people he hires.
Leader “game faces” are no longer applicable. Game faces are shown to the world, everyone knows them as inauthentic. People demand transparency, which stems from the energy we share face-to face; part of Paul’s success.
As workplaces become increasingly flattened and transparent, compounded with demands exercised by Millennials for transparency, demands for authenticity grow larger and larger.
Business success always depends on the organization’s ability to promote an engaging culture. It’s not an option in the social age. Now it’s the only way a company can remain agile and responsive to the environment. It’s creating a culture where people feel a sense of belonging and purpose. It’s a culture of trust and alignment with core values.
Culture as a Function of Leadership
There are many ways leadership affects culture and culture affects leadership. Anita Roddick founded the Body Shop to show that you could build an environmentally friendly corporation that reflected her commitment to environmental activism. Anita’s ethics became a central part of the culture.
Walk the talk. Your employees observe what you do. Not just what you say.
Maximize your advantage as a small business and make company culture a priority. Incorporate the language in your day to day operations. Your employees will stay longer, will be happier and more productive.
