An organization’s culture, its ways of working, its decision-making processes are formed over time. While many companies have employee handbooks and written policies and procedures, like the old baseball adage, there are many unwritten rules that can be impossible to follow, especially if you’re new to the company. Also, company cultures don’t change overnight. They don’t change because a new mission statement was developed, or a new executive was brought in. They evolve based on actions taken collectively by management, not words spoken.
One of the biggest influences on an organization’s culture is how it sets priorities. Prioritizing near-term profitability and cost cutting over investing in the future sends a louder signal on what is important than any CEO presentation. Telling direct reports that they are empowered based on company priorities but then questioning every decision they make trains them to wait to be told what to do.
Getting on the Same Page
Setting priorities isn’t easy in any business regardless of its size, complexity, or industry segment served. And since no business has infinite funds or resources, making the best use of them (i.e., prioritization) is essential for an organization to be successful.
In every business there are a multitude of factors and stakeholders to consider, making it impossible to develop a single algorithm or formula that can be used to decide which initiatives to approve, fund, and resource. The importance lies in the eye of the beholder (i.e., stakeholder). What is critically important to the VP of Research & Development is likely less critical to the VP of Supply Chain and vice versa because each is viewing the business from their individual perspective, and they have different performance and personal goals. For example, the VP of R&D is motivated to launch new products to drive revenue growth; however, this adds complexity to the supply chain, which is counter to the VP of Supply Chain’s objective to reduce costs. This is why it is critical for a company to clearly state whether growth or reducing costs is more important to the business. And why you can’t let your personal goals override the company’s goals.
All company executives want the same outcomes: a growing, profitable business with happy employees and customers. But they have personal goals tied to their own growth and prosperity. This is just human nature. The key to being an impactful leader is not letting your personal goals overrule your judgment resulting in prioritizing an initiative that helps you over an initiative that helps the business. One technique that can be helpful is to map your personal goals to the company goals to visualize the connections as a way to maintain alignment.
Are You Walking the Talk?
One of the most important characteristics of a leader is integrity—practicing what you preach. A leader’s job is to inspire others to follow a path to realize a goal. Michael Jordan is arguably one of the greatest athletes of all time. He certainly had incredible raw talent. But one of the ways he enabled his team to achieve success was through his work ethic. He practiced for hours, even when he was at the pinnacle of his career. He showed his teammates the importance of practice, not by telling them but by showing them. He made practice a priority when he could have easily asked for a veteran’s day off.
Reflect on how you are leading by example. What are actions you can take to demonstrate the importance of your company’s strategic priorities? One of the hallmarks of IPM’s culture is collaboration. This ties directly to the value we provide to our customers by bringing our collective knowledge and experience to bear to help solve problems and mitigate risks. I make it a priority to offer my support, as does every leader in the organization, when anyone puts out a call for help.
Recognizing how your actions reinforce the company culture or erode it is the first step toward building a strong organization that can thrive under any conditions.
- Prioritization discipline: Do you agree with company priorities in public, but instruct your team to work on your pet projects even if they weren’t approved? Do you hoard resources to work on your priorities rather than making them available to work on other company initiatives?
- Process discipline: Do you move forward with your ideas based on your gut instinct, skipping steps others are required to follow?
- Decision transparency: Is the decision-making process clear and consistent for everyone? Do you truly empower others to make decisions? Or do expect others to seek your approval before moving forward?
- Milestone setting: Do you dictate deadlines based on your desired dates or empower the team to established realistic milestones based on the activities to be completed? Do you accept the team’s expertise, or do you arbitrarily dictate deadlines be accelerated?
- Risk tolerance: Do you embrace trying new ideas with a realistic understanding of the risks involved? Or do you expect everything to go perfectly the first time?
- Active collaboration: Do you make yourself available in times of turmoil? Do you get involved in making big decisions and take ownership if they don’t work out as planned?
Setting the Right Example
Personal credibility as a leader is essential. Saying one thing but doing another is the fastest way to lose credibility. Employees closely scrutinize a leader’s words and actions to make sure they are congruent. They want to know that the rules, written and unwritten, apply to everyone the same way. They want to understand the logic behind decisions being made and that they are being made in the best interest of the organization to drive growth and prosperity.
Organizational cultures are shaped over time through numerous actions taken and decisions made. They are not solely the responsibility of the CEO or the C-suite. They are not formed by mission statements or slogans on the wall. They are formed and maintained every day by everyone in a leadership role.
May 3, 2024
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