COMPANY CULTURE
I’ve worked in different industry’s and for different types of supervisors. Aside from this real life experience, I also enjoy reading about leaders; particularly business leaders. This brings me to the age old question of how is a good company culture developed? While there are many definitions, we will keep it simple. Company culture is defined as the environment that you work in. In addition, it is the atmosphere, camaraderie, feeling of purpose, and overall desire to align yourself with the company you work for.
Company culture is developed by people. Some of them include the founders, managers, employees as well as the customer. Because of that, there are different styles of culture that is developed. Regardless of the vessel, is there really a ‘right’ way to develop a culture?
BOTH ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM
There are many great leaders who have a certain way of pushing their teams. For example, you have the Steve Jobs and Bill Gates types who tend to be a little more aggressive and demeaning. On the other hand, though, many of their employees describe the genius nature of these two men. Was is that they could not manage people properly, or were they so focused on their product(s) or consumer experience that everything else was not relevant?
Conversely though, you have another type of leader like Sir Richard Branson who so famously, and eloquently, stated, “by putting the employee first, the customer effectively comes first by default, and in the end, the shareholder comes first by default as well.” Certainly, Sir Branson is not the only believer in this precedent. J.W. Marriott holds similar values. So does the ever so charming Sam Walton.
However you slice the cake, I believe it goes without saying that it is important to invest in your employees. Remember, they too are humans, have families, and internal desires. Remember, they too are interwoven with feelings, emotions and some have a strong desire to succeed. While there is not one way to build a house, I believe you should do your best to uplift your team. Make yourself more available, supportive but also challenge and assist in the personal and professional development.
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