Part 5 How your company culture is the hidden cause of success or failure

An engaged workforce needs to be ‘enabled’ to turn its enthusiasm into action. If people feel held back by weak systems, bureaucracy or conflicting pressures, they will not be able to bring their spirit to work and deliver to their full potential. Even worse, their frustration may lead them to stop trying, or move on.

How does a leader bring spirit to work and find the inspiration to be alive from 9 to 5?

The secret is that for your company to thrive, your people must thrive.

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast!

No matter how far reaching a leader’s vision or how brilliant the strategy, neither will be realized if not supported by an organization’s culture. (Peter Drucker)

“Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast,” first said by Peter Drucker then adopted my Mark Fields President of Ford. Mark believed in this concept so much that he had a poster made and hung in the company’s war room.

Mark Fields knew that his strategy would be realized if not supported by the culture.

You know the Ford story. For Ford to succeed, Mark had to replace a culture characterized by bitterness, distrust, fear, and a sense of betrayal with one characterized by creativity, innovation, and a sense of responsibility for the entire organization.

Adopting, developing and exercising a culture of good leadership and management practices are critical to the workforce’s ability to engage and thrive…

Pat Lencioni, author of The Advantage says that organizational health will one day surpass all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage. His number one principal centers on building a culture of strong leadership practices.

Culture is about commonly shared values as well as how these values are honoured through choices and behaviors. A common phrase to describe this is walking the talk.

It is people who are going to execute the strategy so they must be inspired to mobilize and engage around that strategy to bring about success. This is Culture by design is an important part of strategic planning.

Values must be defined and communicated then the behaviours required to live by those values must also be defined, communicated, embraced and adopted by leaders. Leaders also breathe life into this through ongoing, consistent programs for people throughout the ranks to participate in.

Our time at work takes up such huge part of our lives so we owe it to ourselves to tap into our spirits to find the essence of our power. We owe it to those who employ us as well as to those who report up to us to build a culture where there is spirit at work and people are alive from 9 to 5 because, for your company to thrive, the people must thrive.

Come visit next week to read about the stunning ROI on coaching and leadership development initiatives.