Thought piece
Designing your desired team and company culture
Every company has a culture – but it is the ones that are carefully considered and intentionally designed that thrive. These are the dynamic cultures with clarified values and clear purposes that help catapult a company to success.
We understand that your company culture is the human factor that affects the way everything is done in your workplace – and that it is crucial to get right. It’s why we embrace and promote using The Culture Design Canvas (CDC) by Gustavo Razzetti, Fearless Culture: a framework that enables you to map your existing culture and design and build the desired culture you wish it to evolve into. We either show you and your leaders how to use the CDC independently or work together with you to co-build and implement a company culture that suits and serves your company best. The CDC encourages spending time considering and shaping the following culture building blocks:
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Purpose + Values
Clarifying your company’s purpose (the reason your company exists) and its values (your company’s fundamental beliefs) is the first foundational building block. It’s the core of your culture. It’s what drives and guides all behaviours and decisions. A clear purpose provides the ‘why’ employees need to move into action, and the clarified values helps guide them in the right direction.
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Strategic Priorities
Next is to select key strategies that ensure your values are practiced and not just spoken about. When everyone is aware of what matters, it’s easier to make the right decisions. Establishing clear strategic priorities facilitates this and guides focus and energy.
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Behaviours
Your values need to be brought to life through everyday actions. Your culture is, in essence, the behaviours you choose to 'reward' and 'punish'. It’s vital to establish which behaviours align with your values and which don’t, so that you can reward and punish them accordingly.
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The 3 ‘Emotional’ Building Blocks
It’s important to consider Psychological Safety (how do you encourage quiet voices in your teams to feel safe to speak up and take risks?); Feedback (how do you encourage open dialogue and ongoing feedback to help uncover any blind spots and strengthen teamwork?); and Rituals (what unique ways of doing things do you establish to create a sense of belonging and familiarity?).
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The 3 ‘Rational’ Building Blocks
And finally, you’ll consider Decision-Making: (who gets to make what decisions and how?); Meetings (how do you maximise interaction and collaboration – and minimise time-wasting?) and Norms and Rules (how do use these to rather than limit employee talent?).
There will be much discussion, consideration and clarification needed before you’ve moulded all these building blocks into the perfect shapes to build your desired culture. We believe a culture that fosters kindness, inclusivity, teamwork and community increases employee engagement, retention and productivity – and helps your company thrive.
If you’d like our help in co-building a strong and healthy culture that works best for your company, please get in touch.
We understand that your company culture is the human factor that affects the way everything is done in your workplace – and that it is crucial to get right