So, you have determined that the time is now to create a winning team culture within your business. That’s a great idea. But how do you go about figuring out what your current company culture is and what do you do to change that?
Here are five tips to steer you in the winning direction.
Know The Core Values of Your Business
Your company’s culture is built upon the framework that comes from its core values. Because of this, you need to have a firm understanding of what those are today. That’s because the core values that were in place when you launched your business may have changed somewhat over the years. Along with that morphing, the company culture may have changed, but not kept up with the core values. Now is the time to review those values and identify where culture changes may need to be made to align both.
Prioritize Cultural Fits
When hiring new team members, try not to get too attached to their skills and abilities. While those are important factors on a resume, what you should be trying to do is find people who fit the company culture. After all, culture is about people and you will want to match winners with winners. New team members that are perfect fits for the company culture enhance the existing team. They quickly fit into the team dynamic and bring new things to the table that inspire and encourage one another. A bad fit just sticks out like a sore thumb and can eventually derail the momentum and success of an existing winning team.
Value Feedback and Engagement
Communication is vital in the development of a winning culture that matches the core values of the company. However, to expand that culture, it is best to turn to those who live it for input on how to effectively encourage that growth. This means that feedback and engagement from team members will assist in the development of the growing culture within your business. Not including communication with those who make up the company culture is a huge disservice to your staff. Anytime you invite engagement, staff feels valued and that their opinions matter. Asking for feedback and inviting engagement helps to show that the company cares.
Set A Good Example
Building team culture extends beyond corporate coaching. To be successful at building a positive team culture, you have to put in a lot more work than just informing team members that the culture is this and will become that in the next few weeks. You could distribute books on building team culture but the best way to help move staff to go in the direction you want is to lead by example. Good leaders drive company culture and management has to be the culture you want everyone else to embrace.
Create The Right Environment
The final tip on how to build a winning team culture in your business is to make it easy on team members to be successful by ensuring they have an inspiring workspace. You do this by enabling both team members and the business processes they use to have the power to inspire each other. In other words, construct an inspirational community. It is not an easy task, but once it starts to develop, great things can happen. One way to start this is to give team members complete control over the planning of events that encourage sharing and collaboration. Purposely use a portion of team meetings to celebrate victories. Give your staff opportunities to push the envelope, step out of their comfort zone and try new things or inspire others to do so.
In Conclusion
Building team culture can benefit your business in so many ways. The interesting thing about it is that in many cases, your business already has a culture in place but needs to tweak it to better match the goals and values of your company. At ACNB, we have a small business coach who can help you develop the winning team culture that has been missing from your business. If you believe that a business growth coach will make the difference in how successful your company will be this year, contact ACNB today to discuss how corporate coaching fits into your business future.