Changing Workplace Culture? Better Make This Your Top Priority
Leading the change to improve workplace cultural is the most challenging thing any leader will take on. You might see this as a bold statement considering everything the leader of an organization has to do but as we face an ongoing global pandemic, war, and economic uncertainty I can confidently say that turning a negative cultural into a team that people want to be a part of is the toughest challenge I have faced. Here is why.
Change isn’t easy. The next time you make a suggestion at work listen for the initial reaction, it will be resistance. Positive change is hard work and most people would rather continue the way things are rather than change. If you’re a leader that comes in and wants to make change, you will face resistance… and it will be constant.
This is why improving culture is the most challenging thing any leader will face. It’s never ending. The majority of projects or tasks that we take on have an end or completion date. Company culture does not. There is no day off from building your team and culture. This is why the top priority when it comes to improving culture is consistency.
As I moved into a leadership role I made culture the top priority. This meant undoing years of negativity and people doing what was in their own best interest, not the best in of the team. It meant that every question I asked was met with skepticism and hesitancy. It meant hearing, “things will never change here. You’re not the first to try”. This was not occasional, it was multiple times a day, especially early on. There were two options:
- Give up and accept things were how they were
2. Consistently drive home the message that things would change and back up my words with actions.
I chose #2 and five years later we have a great team of people and a culture people want to be a part of. But it’s not over. As our team grows and the business evolves there is more change which is, at some point, met by some level of resistance or a challenge. After all, with success people like how it is but with growth comes change.
It gets easier as your team enjoys the success together but there are still not days off. We must be consistent in our approach to create a positive culture. In the decisions we make, the actions we take, and the words we speak, we must continue to send a consistent message or the culture will suffer and we will find ourselves starting all over again… likely with a new leader.