It seems the holidays and approaching New Year puts many leaders into a state of reflection and renewal. January hearkens the desire to keep what works and change what doesn’t. The time is ripe and prime for a shift….but you have been through this before…it isn’t easy to address a culture shift.
“So, tell a better story…” Work cultures are built on the stories we tell and most companies are filled with stories that embody the image employees have of their company – sometimes these stories are accurate, and sometimes they are not. “If they don’t like it they can leave.” is the kind of story employees will share for years, or at least the ones who stayed, even if it was poorly translated and uttered by a single executive who did not intend it to come off quite as harshly as it did.
First step to take is to know and understand what the existing stories are, what compels your staff to either love or hate the company in which they work and what stories do they repeat most often to support those beliefs? If those stories are truly an inaccurate depiction of the whole truth, what are you doing to share the stories that are most relevant to meeting the truth?
Here is the second step…if you are looking for culture shift find the employees who act in the manner to which you wish your culture to shift… then tell their stories proudly and often. What have they done that is positive? How do they do those things? What do you do to support that kind of behaviour?
It isn’t enough to ‘like’ their actions – we need to support those actions, tell their stories, coach others to behave similarly.
What else can you do? Take action yourself – adopt activities that empower the kind of shift you want the company culture to take – and let your employees tell those stories.
Transition will be weird, even messy at times – the stories won’t match what they already believe, but that will shift over time. Not an executive? That’s okay, anyone who witnesses positive action, collaboration, great execution – they can tell stories too!
What’s Your Story??
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