Now is the time to take stock of your culture. No matter the size of your company, you have a culture whether you attend to it or not. This is as true for 1 or 2 person operations and for companies with thousands.
Your culture is composed of very concrete stuff such as how your values show up in your behavior, how you engage and behave towards your stakeholders (and yes all of us have them), how you set up a workplace and environment that is nurturing to you and your stakeholders. Remember, purpose-driven leaders are very susceptible to burnout and to burning out others because we are so passionate about our causes.
Don’t take your culture for granted. And never assume your organization is either too small or too large for a culture. If you have customers, suppliers, employees, a community, you have a culture whether you know it or not. Make it a good, supportive one!
Start by taking the time to look closely at your current culture. You don’t have to hire consultants to do it. And you don’t need really formal methods.
You can start with simple pulse-checks (your own included ) Ask your stakeholders for anecdotes illustrating what they think of the company’s culture. Take note of who your stakeholders hold up as your company heroes. What are their fears and concerns? Hopes and expectations. Simple conversations can provide you with plenty of good information about your current culture.
You won’t be sorry you took the time to look at your culture. Want more tips about how you can assess and address your culture? Just ask.
