The following is a guest post by Jon Gordon.
“To build a winning a team and a successful organization you must create a culture of greatness.”
It’s the most important thing a leader can do because culture drives behavior, behavior drives habits and habits create the future. As the leaders at Apple say, “Culture beats strategy all day long.”
When you create a culture of greatness you create a collective mindset in your organization that expects great things to happen—even during challenging times. You expect your people to be their best, you make it a priority to coach them to be their best and most of all you create a work environment that fuels them to be their best.
A culture of greatness creates an expectation that everyone in the organization be committed to excellence. It requires leaders and managers to put the right people in the right positions where they are humble and hungry and willing to work harder than everyone else.
A culture of greatness dictates that each person use their gifts and strengths to serve the purpose and mission of the organization. And it means that you don’t just bring in the best people, but you also bring out the best in your people.
If you are thinking that this sounds like common sense, it is. But unfortunately far too many organizations expect their people to be their best but they don’t invest their time and energy to help them be their best nor do they create an environment that is conducive to success. They want great results but they are not willing to do what it takes to create a culture of greatness.
A culture of greatness requires that you find the right people that fit your culture. Then you coach them, develop them, mentor them, train them and empower them to do what they do best. As part of this process you develop positive leaders who share positive energy throughout the organization because positive energy flows from the top down.
You also don’t allow negativity to sabotage the morale, performance and success or your organization. You deal with negativity at the cultural level so your people can spend their time focusing on their work instead of fighting energy vampires. And you find countless ways to enhance communication, build trust and create engaged relationships that are the foundation upon which winning teams are built.
If creating a culture of greatness sounds like a lot of work, it is, but not as much work as dealing with the crises, problems and challenges associated with negative, dysfunctional and sub-par cultures. While most organizations waste a lot of time putting out fires you can spend your time building a great organization that rises above the competition.
Jon Gordon is the Wall Street Journal and international bestselling author of a number of books including The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy, and his latest, The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Life and Work. You can learn more about Jon and his books on his website at www.JonGordon.com. You can also follow Jon on Twitter – @JonGordon11 or Facebook – www.facebook.com/jongordonpage.
Thank you for your focus on greatness, Jon. Most of all creating and nurturing a culture of greatness requires men and women who are not only great leaders but great people who are in leadership positions. I'm often asked what human greatness means to me. I believe great people master their defensive instincts and stay in their heroic modes even when they are triggered. Also they can have hard conversations without triggering the orher's defenses.
David Lapin
Author: Lead By Greatness
Hi David,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on what it takes to create a great culture. I agree with you 100% that the essential ingredient is having someone in the helm who inspires and empowers those they lead to live up to a more noble version of themselves, instead of simply cranking out processes with greater expediency.
Thanks again for your comment, David.
A tall order Tanveer. I have lost count how many different cultures I have worked with since embarking on the path of being marketing outsource. I have worked with some great brands, but I cannot say I have worked with any great cultures. Far from it. Sad!
Hi Jim,
Considering the condition of the current economy, the numerous studies which paint a bleak picture both for those who are working in the modern-day trenches and those who are desparate to get back in, it's not that surprising, is it.
That's why I love welcoming guest writers like Jon to my blog – to encourage readers to not simply assume that such working conditions exist among 'the best of the best'. Rather, it's something that can exist in all organizations by recognizing that it's a team effort driven by those at the fore who see the potential in their organization to do and be better.
Thanks Jim for sharing your experiences with this. It's much appreciated, my friend.
Love this! It inspired me to write a bit on my blog about what I think is the secret sauce of the culture of greatness: gratitude. Companies of the world, your fortune is the people who show up or log in everyday. Treat your colleagues like rock stars. Bring out their best and they will take their best out there to your customers. This I believe.
Hi Lisa,
Certainly the way we communicate – in addition to what we communicate – plays a big role in how people perceive their role within a team or organization. Expressing gratitude to others not only demonstrates appreciation, it also informs others of the value they bring to the organization.
In my piece "How Two Simple Words Can Energize Your Team and Grow Your Business", I wrote about a study which looked at the real impact saying thank you has on people. Aside from being the right thing to do, it does have a tangible impact on your business.
Thanks Lisa for sharing your thoughts; I'm glad to hear it inspired you to delve a bit more into the subject on your blog.
I was fortunate to attend a seminar months ago about Employees being one of Natural Resources of our company. This article made me bring out my notes out of my files and read again. Thanks for making me remember how to treat the rest of my team the best that they deserve.
My pleasure, Joy. Glad to hear it.
I love this last paragraph, "If creating a culture of greatness sounds like a lot of work, it is, but not as much work as dealing with the crises, problems and challenges associated with negative, dysfunctional and sub-par cultures. While most organizations waste a lot of time putting out fires you can spend your time building a great organization that rises above the competition."
I think this fact gets really lost in the morass of that very environment people say they don't want for their organization. Is it that they are comfortable being uncomfortable in this type of environment. That they don't want to have the tough, candid conversations that people need to have to turn these type of cultures around?
In my work and my writings I've coined the phrase "The Avoid and Let Go Leadership Style" that causes so many people in organizations and teams led by those type of leaders to tolerate the negative impact on morale, motivation, productivity, and stress in the work environment. I'm on a mission to help transform those type of workplaces, to create what I call "Champion" cultures, much like Jon's 'greatness culture."
Thanks Skip for sharing your thoughts on this piece. Glad you enjoyed reading Jon's thoughts on the importance of culture to an organization's ability to succeed and achieve 'greatness'.