6 Easy Steps Leaders Can Take Towards Building Cultures of Growth
Creating high performing teams requires leadership that is intentional about the work environments we foster; here's how you can start!
A couple of weeks ago, I gave a keynote at the Pacific Northwest Organizational Development Network (PNODN) on Creating Cultures of Growth. It was such a great event with rich discussions about leadership and culture from those in attendance. Leaders have such a large influence on your organization’s culture. Cultivating high performing, growth-oriented cultures—cultures that are focused on providing people with the tools and strategies that they need to be successful—can be challenging, especially for today’s leaders who are expected to hold many different moving pieces, so I want to share some advice that I offered PNODN on how you can get started.
1. Be Intentional In Shaping Your Culture
A high-performing culture doesn't just happen—it’s cultivated through intentional leadership. If you want to create high performing teams and organizations, be mindful of the cues and signals you send. Pay close attention to the way people react to the messages you send and the new policies that are deployed in the organization. Do people react in a way that are in line with your organization’s values? If not, what shifts might you make?
2. Give and Receive Feedback and Praise—It's Essential
Giving and receiving critical feedback and praise are essential in building a high-performing culture. Feedback helps people understand what behaviors are promoted in the organization and what ones to stay away from. For example, if you want people in your organization to be more collaborative, how are you recognizing and rewarding this behavior? Are you giving public kudos to acknowledge their efforts? How about monetary awards that show the organization truly values this behavior? It's critical that both leaders and team members engage in giving and receiving feedback in order to foster high performance, trust, and improvement.
3. Start With What You Can Control When Responding to Feedback
As leaders, how you respond to critical feedback plays a role in shaping the culture. Whether the feedback comes through surveys, town halls, or one-on-one conversations, when responding to critical feedback, it’s important to focus on what is within your control to ensure that you can ultimately take action on it. This approach not only demonstrates that you are listening, but also helps build trust within your team.
4. Embrace Courage When Building Your Culture of Growth
Transitioning into a growth-oriented culture can be a significant challenge, for both leaders and their teams. Those who have experienced a fixed mindset culture may need courage to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process. Changing an organization's culture, like any other change, requires intentional change management. Identify growth-minded behaviors and norms that you and your teams can consistently adopt and implement to begin shifting your culture towards being more growth-minded. Remembering to be consistent will be a struggle in itself, so identify norms that you can easily integrate into regularly occurring events like team meetings and one-on-ones. Make space for you and your team to reflect on how the shifts toward a growth-minded culture are going. Building a Culture of Growth “pod” will make it less daunting and enable transparency in changing the culture collectively.
5. Recognize Culture Creation is Cumulative
Culture is not created overnight. It's the cumulative effect of daily actions, decisions, and behaviors that shape an organization's culture over time. Each individual plays a part in this process, and even small acts of kindness, accountability, or openness to change contribute to building a more positive and growth-focused culture. It's important to remember that your consistent efforts, particularly in challenging times, have lasting impact.
6. Cultural Challenges are Industry Agnostic
During the PNODN session, I invited participants to share the industry they are working in, which led to an eye-opening and inspiring realization for the group: while participants came from a broad range of industries and experiences, many were grappling with similar challenges. Participants were able to see that no matter what industry you’re in or your level of leadership, if you want a high performing team, you have to focus on your team’s culture.
Cultivating a growth-oriented mindset within teams is a daily commitment that requires trust, courage, and an openness to feedback. I hope this provides you with some practical tips on how to take those first steps—and how to keep moving forward, even when the road feels uncertain. I’d love to hear about your path and thoughts. Have you applied any of these practices? What advice do you have for other leaders who want to shift their cultures?
Looking for ways to to take these steps further? We've worked with a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to higher education. Let our team help you identify solutions for your unique environment.
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