It’s the most important thing a leader can do because culture drives behaviour, behaviour drives habits and habits create the future. As the leaders at Apple say, “Culture beats strategy all day long."
When you create a culture of greatness you create a collective mindset in your organisation that expects great things to happen—even during challenging times. You expect your people to be their best, you make it a priority to coach them to be their best and most of all you create a work environment that fuels them to be their best.
A culture of greatness creates an expectation that everyone in the organisation be committed to excellence. It requires leaders and managers to put the right people in the right positions where they are humble and hungry and willing to work harder than everyone else. A culture of greatness dictates that each person use their gifts and strengths to serve the purpose and mission of the organisation. And it means that you don’t just bring in the best people, but you also bring out the best in your people.
If you are thinking that this sounds like common sense, it is. But unfortunately far too many organisations expect their people to be their best but they don't invest their time and energy to help them be their best nor do they create an environment that is conducive to success. They want great results but they are not willing to do what it takes to create a culture of greatness.
A culture of greatness requires that you find the right people that fit your culture. Then you coach them, develop them, mentor them, train them and empower them to do what they do best. As part of this process you develop positive leaders who share positive energy throughout the organisation because positive energy flows from the top down. You also don’t allow negativity to sabotage the morale, performance and success or your organisation. You deal with negativity at the cultural level so your people can spend their time focusing on their work instead of fighting energy vampires. And you find countless ways to enhance communication, build trust and create engaged relationships that are the foundation upon which winning teams are built.
If creating a culture of greatness sounds like a lot of work, it is, but not as much work as dealing with the crises, problems and challenges associated with negative, dysfunctional and sub-par cultures. While most organisations waste a lot of time putting out fires you can spend your time building a great organisation that rises above the competition.
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