Culture is key
Although the hard numbers in any organization show success on paper, the one aspect of a business that most leaders find difficult to imitate is a healthy, efficient, and positive organizational culture.
According to a recent blog post by John Spence, having a winning organizational culture is incredibly important to the success of your business. In fact, according to Spence, the number one factor in creating highly engaged, satisfied, and loyal customers is to have highly engaged, satisfied, and loyal employees. This response can only be fostered through a leader’s ability to create a healthy organizational culture.
After years of research, Spence came up with the ten most essential elements of a “winning” culture:
1. People enjoy the work they do and the people they work with.
2. People take pride in the work they do and the company they work for.
3. There are high levels of engagement, connection, camaraderie, and a community of caring.
4. There is a culture of fairness, respect, trust, inclusiveness, and teamwork.
5. The leaders walk the talk, live the values, and communicate a clear vision and strategy for growth.
6. Lots of open, honest, robust, and transparent communication across the entire organization.
7. The company invests back in employees; there is a commitment to learning, coaching, and development.
8. There is a bias for action; employees have an ownership mentality and always strive to give their personal best.
9. There is high accountability and a strong focus on delivering the desired results.
10. There is ample recognition and rewards, and you refuse to tolerate mediocrity.
To analyze your own fostered organizational cultures, Spence recommends taking a moment to score your company on how well your culture matches up with the list. From there, you can find areas that are successful for the well-being of your employees, and those that you may need to improve.