“Many can do what you do, but no one can be who you are.”

"Who you are" is the only thing that truly distinguishes your organization from others. It doesn't matter what product or service you provide, nor does it matter the industry you're in. What you do and how you do it can be replicated. But who you are is truly unique and your ability to leverage that difference will determine the level of success you achieve.

Culture is the way in which organizations demonstrate who they are. And those who are intentional about their culture are the organizations people most want to work for and with. As we continue to look at how to create an intentional culture, we are going to dig in to each type of culture influencer, starting with the Culture Creators.

Culture Creators - Who Are They?

The Culture Creators for any organization are the people at the very top of the organizational hierarchy. They are the Founders, Owners, CEOs and Executive Teams in charge of casting vision and determining the direction the organization will go. In the case of larger organizations, where sub-cultures often exist, i.e. regional offices, independent locations, etc., the General Managers, Vice Presidents and Market Leaders and their direct report team will typically comprise your Culture Creators as well. That said, the sub-culture of a region or location must align with and support the culture of the entire organization.

“All organizations are a reflection of the person or people leading the way.”

All organizations are a reflection of the person or people leading the way. The same is true with culture. A creative and bold Creator will attract and inspire a culture of pushing the limits and celebrating new and different ideas to achieve success. A people-focused, service-minded Creator will attract and inspire a culture of empathy and relationship building.

Understanding and embracing this fact is significant for all Culture Creators in an organization. Be mindful of your interactions within the organization. Make sure they align with the culture you desire and expect for your organization. It’s a great responsibility for all Creators and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Culture Creators - What Is Their Responsibility?

This is not about one culture being better than another. It’s about recognizing what culture is most authentic to your organization and creating systems and processes to ensure that culture is experienced across the entirety of the organization.

This is the most important responsibility for the Culture Creator. If you are a Creator, you must first identify and articulate the authentic culture of your organization. Then, you must develop the tools required to deliver the culture consistently. The key word here is authentic. Be the best you rather than an average copy of someone else.

“Be the best you rather than an average copy of someone else.”

Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, is a great example of this. Mr. Chapman believes in what he calls “Truly Human Leadership” and leverages this leadership philosophy through everything his company does. Whether it be talent acquisition and development or Barry-Wehmiller’s approach to company growth through acquisition, Bob’s philosophy has become his company’s culture and it flows through the entire organization.

Culture Creators - How Do They Achieve Success?

Success for Culture Creators comes down to relentless communication and purposeful execution. Once you have identified your purpose, principles, and pay-off (Your Culture Print™), you must be committed and consistent in your communication and demonstration of your Culture Print.

Relentless communication is the first step. A clear purpose statement and core principles effectively communicated become the rallying cry for your organization. In every situation, your people will lean into your purpose and principles to find the best solution. And when they do, you will find they will solve problems, develop new ideas, and work together as a team in ways that will look and feel very much like your ways but better because they add their flavor and perspective to your purpose and principles that inspire them to be their best.

The next step is purposeful execution. Culture can be a very ambiguous thing. But the best organizations in the world have created tools and processes to develop and reproduce their culture over and over again. In order to have an intentional culture, this step is non-negotiable.

There are many different ways you can make your culture tangible for your organization. Symbols and language are excellent tools. Recognition programs and performance evaluations can be effective tools as well. You can even leverage feedback processes and surveys to develop and track your culture’s effectiveness. The options are practically limitless. So what you decide to do is up to you. But the fact remains, you must decide to do something.

One Last Note…

While Culture Creators are the people setting the course and tone for your organization’s culture, they can’t do it alone. In fact, they aren’t even the most important culture influencer in the organization. That honor belongs to the Culture Keepers. These are the mid-level managers and supervisors who have direct influence of your front-line employees. It’s critical that Culture Creators effectively engage, empower, and equip their Culture Keepers to ensure the desired and expected culture is experienced by all people in your organization.

In Part 3 of Creating an Intentional Culture, I’ll take a look at those Culture Keepers, shining a light on who they are, why they’re so important, and how their role as culture influencers determines whether or not your culture and organization will reach it’s fullest potential.

Again, I would love to hear your thoughts about the concept of culture influencers and why intentional culture matters. Leave your comments below and join the conversation.

Till next time…

By Dan Shurtz, Founder of The Culture Print

Over the first 20 years of my career, I've been a part of some amazing cultures and some, let's just say, not-so-much. During this time, I've learned how important culture is and how it can make or break the success of an organization. Below are six of the most important lessons I've learned about culture.

Lesson #1: Culture Matters More Than Results

My first "real" job taught me that how you achieve results is more important than the results you achieve. Shortly after leaving my company, I realized my mistake and reached out to the owners asking if they would take me back. I was confident they would say yes as I was a successful seller for their company.

I'll never forget the lunch meeting we had to discuss my possible return. It was a good conversation and I felt everything was moving towards an offer when I was thrown a curve ball. I was told that since I left, the team dynamics improved and the culture inside the company was much better.

Ouch...didn't see that coming.

I was viewed as an instigator of conflict inside our company and culture, specifically around a relationship I had on the team. Once I left, that influence diminished or disappeared. If I was to return to the company, I had to promise that I would be a positive culture influencer rather than a negative one.

My results were good...but the owners of the company understood what I didn't at the time: a healthy culture breeds a healthy bottom line. If I poisoned the culture, regardless of how much revenue I generated, the health of the company was at risk.

"A healthy culture breeds a healthy bottom line."

I will always be grateful for the direct feedback I was given as well as the opportunity to apply that feedback as a part of the team when they welcomed me back.

Lesson #2: Culture Lives or Dies With Leadership

I have experienced strong, authentic leadership bringing culture to life and inspiring people to deliver exceptional results. I've also experienced the void of leadership, where the culture was diminished or ignored and the bottom line suffered.

Here's what I know: Talented, successful people and teams typically don't lose their ability to be successful. They can, however, lose their way when the conditions that made success possible are no longer in play.

If you have a great team that has "lost its way", take stock of the current conditions the team is operating in and determine what has changed. If your core culture hasn't changed, then you have a leadership problem, not a team problem. If your core culture has changed, then you have some heavy lifting to do, either moving your team to align with the new culture, or building a new team that does.

Lesson #3: Every Culture is Unique

I used to believe there was only one right way to do business. And of course, I thought the right way was the way I liked to do business. After a few significant experiences in my career, and with the help of some great mentors, I learned that there are a lot of ways to be successful. I also learned I am not a fit for all of them.

One very powerful example in my career was my time in broadcast television. I had been a highly-valued member of the team for a number of years. I was an "up and coming" talent that was groomed for, and ultimately placed in, management and senior leadership. While my path had its challenges, the companies and I were great culture matches and together we saw much success.

Then our station was purchased and we welcomed a new owner. And this time, I wasn't a culture match. The new company had a different belief in what success looked like, especially when it came to how to achieve results. Almost overnight, I went from being viewed as a whiz-kid who was on his way to the corner office to being the class dunce who couldn't do anything right and office was moved into a storage closet.

In the end, I learned that culture has a very real impact on how people perform. When I was a culture match, my performance shined. When I was a culture clash, my effort and performance suffered. I fought the good fight for a couple of years, but in the end, I made a move and it was the best thing for all parties.

"Understand what makes your culture unique and then fill your organization with people who are great culture matches."

Understand what makes your culture unique and then fill your organization with people who are great culture matches. Do this well and you'll have the best chance to maximize your potential and achieve success.

Lesson #4: You Can't Fake Culture

Culture is quite the buzzword these days. Today's workforce demands great culture and organizations are working hard to show their culture is second to none. But the truth is, you don't tell your employees you have a great culture. Your employees tell you.

"You don't tell your employees you have a great culture. Your employees tell you."

A bunch of words on a wall or a pithy saying at the bottom of an email signature doesn't create great cultures. If the actions of the organization don't match the words it speaks, then your culture, and your bottom will suffer.

Bottom line is this...be authentic when it comes to culture. Don't say what you think employees and customers want to hear. Say who you really are. It's much easier for your actions to match your words when the words you speak are true.

Lesson #5: Culture Clarity and Accountability is Hard

Culture is the secret sauce that differentiates one organization from another. And success is determined in large part by the health of that culture. The importance of clearly communicating and consistently delivering your culture increases as your company grows. So does the difficulty in achieving clarity and accountability.

The solution is simple, but not easy. You have to slow down so you can go fast.

"You have to slow down so you can go fast."

Slowing down means taking the time to discover and declare what I call your Culture Print. Your Culture Print is made up of three key 'markers': Purpose, Principles, and Pay-off. This is hard, yet critical work to ensure the success of your organization.

Once you're able to clearly communicate your culture, next is developing the practices that will ensure your organization, especially your Culture Keepers (those who lead and influence employees), consistently deliver the culture every day.

Spend your time today getting this right so you can spend your time tomorrow growing your organization rather than fixing your organization.

Lesson #6: Clear and Consistent Culture is Unstoppable

Lightning in a bottle. That's what we call it when we look at at a time where everything clicked, the best of everyone rose to the top, and tremendous success was achieved. But that phrase, "lightning in a bottle", makes it sound like those moments happened due to extremely good fortune and a case of being in the right place at the right time.

But if you look closer...take the time to really see what was happening in those moments, I bet you'll find that what you were actually experiencing was the result of a clear and consistent culture. Clarity and consistency of culture engages, empowers, and equips your organization in a way that makes success practically inevitable. The key is finding a way to create this experience on purpose and sustain for an extended period of time.

The best organizations do this well; Zappos, Barry-Wehmiller, and Lululemon just to name a few. How do they do it? They understand their unique Culture Print, they articulate it clearly, and they put practices in place to ensure it's lived at all levels of the organization every day.

Don't leave success to chance, hoping you catch "lightning in a bottle". Instead, do what the best do and make success inevitable by unlocking the full potential of your organization through a clear and consistent culture.