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Takeaways (TL:DR)
The identity of a company is often build around some core values. These are the glue that let people stick together and the magnet that attracts likeminded people to row together towards the same goal. The resulting company culture is what makes a team of colleagues or an entire team, unique. And then the circle starts again, cause what is identity if not what is unique to something?! But were this cycle even starts?! Probably from little daily behaviours, that send messages and pave the soil for building and growing that shared set of values among people.
🍊 Welcome to the latest issue of Already, Yet – a weekly retrospective about not feeling ready, but doing things anyway.
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Weekly retrospective
If you follow me from a long time, you could have noticed how the intention of the newsletter gradually shifted from keeping myself accountable for what I could do to become a decent and better leader of my team, to a place where I could find some growth in a situation that didn’t met the expectations at all.
I take my part of responsibilities, I was indeed not ready to face this, and completely missed a target that wasn’t really clear and/or too ambitious and idealistic to be honest. On the other hand, I lost to the culture of the office, and maybe I’m still bringing some sort of slow a little change and impact but mostly I’m surviving to come back here every week to find a little breath of personal and professional growth in what I experienced during the previous seven days.
“Lost to the culture of the office”, what does this even mean? How much resistance have I put against it to talk about it as a battle?
I’m constantly reflecting on what this culture I’m living in is about, if there’s something that I can find motivating, or that I can recognise myself into, or rather if I’m just doing what I’m best at — learning and adapting — only to end up not liking the result of this transformation.
The question(s)
During one of the daily commutes with my colleague/neighbour, I brought him the following question:
What do you think makes our company “our company”?
Which are the proverbial vision and mission I can follow to understand if I’m doing good or bad or at least I’m doing things “our way”?
If even the simple “making money” or “being cool” are valid answers (although not really acceptable to me n.d.r.), do you think there is one single value, shared by the team, or made explicit by someone which we can gather around and row together to the same direction?
He said he thinks “being a cohesive group” is what makes us, “us”. Or at least is what he desired to be.
He let me understand through our discussion that the power of our company is to have an approach, a character and an external perception that makes us accessible for a broad public, from very large companies like Philips down to small local entrepreneurs that need a simple, two-weeks, ten-grand project.
In this sense we are very “democratic”, in this sense we are accessible and a big part of what makes the company so approachable is the way we appear as a team: a low profile, open, and cheerful group that is down to earth and very pragmatic. The easy guys and gals.
I accepted this answer and took it home. I’m not convinced yet, it feels to me like we tapped the boundaries of the “we are like family” disaster, but is really not that bad, there’s a lot of good to take from such a perspective, and I will.
On the other hand I couldn’t stop to think about the first, instinctive answer: “Being a group” is what makes us “us”, actually I don’t know if it is right now, but is what I would like it to be.
The chicken-egg dilemma
If you remember, one of my questions was “What is something we are or we can gather around?” and the non direct answer to that was, “Being a group”. Does it feel tautological in any way? (sarcasm here).
So my colleague feels like this is all there is. Simple, linear, we can work well together, it just takes us the will to be a close-knight group.
To me instead, that belonging is the end result, the byproduct of something else that works as adhesive to create bonds, that shared culture that attracts people with shared values — at least the ones that make the core values of the company, because also diversity is important to make a rich culture — and clearly identifies the group and the value and the impact they want to have with their work.
It came to my mind also the fact that in the past few months, our managers demanded to people more commitment to the cry of “you should feel as if the company is your own”. Commitment that is absent, at least to their desired extent. Personally, I think the situation is the reflection of the fact that the behaviour of the managers indirectly sends the opposite message instead: “the company is ours and ours only”. And they do this by missing any opportunity available to involve people in decisions that impact themselves directly.
Despite exposing a little inattention over company culture, this rather made me reflect about how impactful can little behaviours be to practices and process and how much the shared culture of a group of people depends on these smaller things rather than on big posters with beautiful words written in large, friendly letters.
Conclusions
My biggest questions now revolve around this cultural issue. This is somewhat a turning point for this entire experience. Something on which I can renovate my commitment to elicit change, have an impact and become a better leader in the future.
What can I do personally and on a daily basis to contribute to refresh or even shape the company culture?
Could it be as simple as being kind and creating or ensuring personal bonds the starting point to generate a sense of belonging and create a company culture based on “being a group”? (I’m skeptical, but I never said I wan’t to reject the idea without experimenting first).
Which are the values that I share with other people in the team? Can I start the transformation from a smaller group?
Can a bottom up change in the company culture work, or is the involvement of the management necessary? (In the end, I also think that, beyond any judgment, it is indeed their own company and hi-jacking the culture without their involvement doesn’t feel quite fair, assuming is possible)
I really would like the get back on track and work on this new awareness to dig deeper into this topic. If there’s anyone out there who feels like providing a mentoring shot on this thorny topic, let me know or share a comment for everyone to learn from.
And you?
Which are the values of your company culture that you recognise into and share with other people in your team?
Which are the little things and behaviours that you practice daily to nurture these values?
Answer down in the comments!
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Thanks for reading to the finish and see you next week!
Tobia