A great work culture can be the difference between good success and failure for any business. It’s how you attract talented individuals and make sure they’re fulfilled and working hard. If you are the leader, manager, supervisor or boss it is very important to set the environment you want to create in a team.
Building a life giving work culture can inspire and unite a team with every operational decision a leader makes, and if taken lightly, can quickly devolve into a dysfunctional team.
Everything rises and falls on leadership. ~John Maxwell
My background goes from working in a high-pressure sales environment, to working at fortune 500 companies in many different levels of executive leadership, to full time ministry and even in a small growing business. I have had a wide arrange of different leaders, managers, bosses or mentors in my carreers and I wanted to share the few things I have learned about creating a life-giving work culture.
Build Trust: Believe for the best in your people and give them the benefit of the doubt. When you do this you build their trust. Doing this creates invulnerability or immune to attack.
“Remember teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” ~Patrick Lencioni
Open Communication: From management to employees, from employees to management open communication is empowering. Let people know what is going on with the company, let them know what things are going good or bad.
Recognition: Employees want to be recognized for accomplishments and the things they have done. Encourage your people openly.
Learning & Development: Create opportunities for employees to develop new skills and it allows them to grow personally.
Teamwork & Involvement: Employees need to feel that they have the opportunity to contribute directly towards the companies success and to the community.
Work/Life Balance: Make sure you not only model out a work/life balance but you allow your employees to do the same. Don’t be paranoid that your employees are taking advantage of you by leaving on time. Work ethic is important but I would rather have someone give me 100% 8 hours a day than give me 30% 12 hours a day.
Motivation Not Intimidation: Learn to motivate your employees by learning what motivates them. Some people would rather have your encourage them verbally, while others are motivated by financial incentives while still others might just be motivated by advancement. Intimidation might work temporarily but not build a work culture that will sustain.
