5 Components of a Successful Culture

Your company culture is the environment created by the attitudes, behaviors, and actions of the people within your organization. This ever-changing culture that you have will drive performance, profitability, employee well-being, and retention.

What does it take to create this thriving culture? There are five key components.

1. Safety - This is the foundation of any successful culture. Without a feeling of safety within the culture then all of the other areas will suffer. This is both physical and psychological safety. For most companies, psychological safety is what you need to focus on developing. If you would like to learn what it takes to create this read this previous article: https://culturethroughleadership.com/written/the-foundation-of-a-successful-culture.

2. Purpose-driven - What drives your company and culture? This is bringing your mission statement, core values, and vision to life. People want to know that they are part of something bigger than themselves. They also want to know that what they are doing is directly impacting this vision.

3. Supportive - Create an environment where people want to see each other be successful. Where others are willing to lend a hand in order to help a teammate. Where people genuinely care about the other members of the team. This is created by how the leader talks with the team and what they value with their actions.

4. Engaged - The team needs to be committed, motivated, and have a high level of participation. When there are high levels of engagement it will result in an increase in performance as well as retention. Two ways this can be created are by showing appreciation and involving others in decision-making. Consistent and effective communication is also required to create an engaged culture.

5. High-performing - At the end of the day, your team or organization must perform at a high level. Having high standards and holding people to this standard sets you up for success. As the leader, believe in your team members and provide them the resources and support to live up to this standard.

When you think about your culture, reflect on how you are doing in these five areas. Which ones are you excelling in? Which ones may you be struggling with? Then develop a plan and take consistent action to enhance your culture!