Leadership is THE critical success factor for any company that is looking to change, build or embed the culture it is going to need to grow and meet financial targets in the future.
Read more about why culture is important here.
One of the most common mistakes made in introducing a new culture or shifting focus onto an existing one is that communicating it should be all that is required to bring it to life. For a culture to embed and help grow an organisation, it needs to be truly believed in and acted on by everyone involved with that organisation. The responsibility for bringing about the changes needed to do this rests with a company’s leaders.
Here, we have defined three critical success factors that leaders must follow with their teams and other stakeholders in order to embed a culture within their organisation.
3 Critical Success Factors for Leaders Embedding Culture
1. Communicate the expectation
- Why is there a focus on culture?
- How does the culture we are building link to the strategy?
- How does the culture help us drive the company forward?
- What are the values and what behaviours underpin these?
- What does success look like if people exhibit those behaviours?
2. Role model the expectation
- Seek Feedback by demonstrating humility & vulnerability
- Use the language – incorporate the culture language into as many conversations as possible.
- Be Consistent – leaders stay consistent through ups and downs and changes in the organisation
3. Hold others accountable
- Provide Feedback – instantly and consistently. Make people aware of the behaviour that is expected.
- Consequences for Behaviour – incorporate culture & behaviour into KPIs and accountability framework.
- Recognise Progress – celebrate success throughout the culture journey.
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