Time is limited.

You’re overworked and tired. 

You have compassion fatigue. 

And now, you’re starting to second-guess yourself and your decisions.  

It’s no wonder you’re left with a constant feeling of letting people down… whether it’s your team, your family or yourself.

Not to put more pressure on you but if you’re feeling like this, how is your team doing? 

And what’s the impact on your culture?

Chances are, you’re not as good at hiding how you’re feeling as you think you are. 

Especially if you’ve been feeling this way for a while. 

Culture changes as people change. 

This continual change means culture is not set and forget.

But it also doesn’t have to be solely reliant on you to create a culture that your team will thrive in. 

For a start, understand that there are ‘motivators’ and ‘blockers’ that can help or hinder the culture in your business.  

According to mccrindle’s shaping thriving culture research, the biggest blockers stopping team members from thriving are:

• Being overworked
• Toxic co-workers
• Lack of resources
• Unrealistic expectations
• Poor leadership decisions 

And the key motivators that allow team members to thrive are:

• Seeing the positive impact of their work
• Relationships at work
• Having responsibility
• Financial compensation
• Their performance within the business

Building on mccrindle’s research, the 3 things that will kill your culture are as follows…

1. Lack of trust between the leader/s and team.

I’ve seen this first-hand in business and once that trust is broken, it’s terribly hard to get it back. 

As a leader, it’s critical to focus on building trust from the get-go and to remember that trust goes both ways. 

You can’t expect loyalty and trust from your people if you don’t give it to them in return. It doesn’t work that way. If you feel like you’re having trust issues, you need to explore why. 

A clue that there might be some trust issues in place is if you find yourself micro-managing. I talk about the negative impact of micro-managing and what to do about it in this article. 

2. Not investing in your people. 

76% of people surveyed strongly agree businesses that fund professional development and leaders that have a focus on coaching and development will positively impact engagement and retention.  

What this tells us is, that it’s not only important to invest in training your people, but it’s also important to ensure ongoing coaching and support for your team. A one-off approach does not work!  

3. Not having a flexible or hybrid workforce. 

We’ve all experienced the epitome of flexible working arrangements over the last few years and we now continue to find what the new normal is for our individual businesses. 

It’s essential to not get swept up in what a flexible workforce ‘should’ look like and rather consider how you and your team can best serve your clients while allowing individual ability and performance to flourish (a key motivator in teams). 

So the questions to ask yourself are…

• What do you do to build trust in your business?
• How do you upskill your people (and yourself)?
• Are you and your team on the same page about what flexible work is, and is your working environment a win/win/win for you, your clients and your team?

If creating an environment that people love coming to work for isn’t reason enough to invest in your people and culture, then put your commercial business hat on. 

Investing in culture will save you money, reduce team turnover and increase productivity and output. 

So even though it might feel impossible right now to ‘find the time’ know that it’s critical to the sustainability of your future business success. 

Culture isn’t about putting just one thing in place, it’s about creating a living organism that continues to grow and change not just with you, but with your whole team. Check out the 13 things to have in place to create a thriving culture here. 

If you want to pick the brain of an experienced leader and business mentor, book a clarity call with Nicky or Ness here to talk all things thriving culture. 

*Source: Shaping thriving culture infographic, www.mccrindle.com

There are a lot of buzzwords and checking off lists when it comes to talking about culture. But it’s so much more than that. 

People bring culture to life. 

I love McRindle’s explanation in a recent report likening culture with the roots of a tree. 

Think of the top of the tree as being reflective of what a business does, the trunk is the reason why it exists and the roots of the tree are the way (how) we do things ie. the culture. 

The roots of the tree are “hidden beneath the ground and seemingly unseen, however, the health of the root system determines the health of the tree’. 

How true this is! 

Culture is at times unseen, yet very clearly (and deeply) felt in the health of the business. 

When the roots aka culture go bad, there’s mistrust, micromanagement (check out this blog for more on how micromanagement can be the death of your business), low performance and the business owner becomes tethered to the day-to-day detail. 

Of course, you want your business to be performing, your people to be happy and engaged, taking ownership and pride in what they do and ultimately love coming to work. 

But believing that a one-off workshop and sticking values on the wall is enough is a big mistake. Big. Huge! as Julia Roberts would say. 

It’s simply not enough! 

Culture is ever-growing (and ever-changing) and needs to be tended to and watered daily. 

Understanding this makes all the difference in realising that culture is the lifeblood of your business. 

The standards and behaviours displayed by your team (and yourself as the business leader) are a great place to start when getting feedback on your current culture. 

According to McCrindle, 7 key areas matter when cultivating culture. 

1. Leadership
2. Meaningful work
3. Team Connection & communication
4. Vision
5. Wellbeing
6. Values & shared behaviour
7. Training & development  

Culture is the first thing we look at in our clients’ business when we do a business health check. Along with the above 7 areas we also look at:

1. Capacity to contribute fully
2. Clarity of expectations
3. Celebrating success
4. Goals
5. Rewards & Recognition
6. And importantly, getting clear on the definition of what high performance looks like for each unique business

It’s time to take stock. 

• How healthy are the roots of your culture?
• Which of the 13 areas listed above do you focus on in your business?
• Which areas could use a little love?

We love going deep into businesses to see what parts of your business engine (including culture) are healthy and those that need some TLC. If you’d like two experienced mentors to look under the hood of your business book a 20-minute clarity call here.