Leadership and Culture

Leadership and Culture in the Workplace

How do you feel about your workplace culture and is it the right match for you? Are you comfortable and happy where you work? Does the company cultivate dignity, loyalty, and respect?

Knowing what’s essential for you when it comes to corporate culture is vital when seeking out new career opportunities. Perhaps you’re a perfectionist that can't bear incompetence. Maybe you are the type of person who needs an environment that lends itself to creativity. Or perchance your dream career involves working for a company with a mission you're truly passionate about in a collaborative environment. It’s important to assess these things as you consider employment opportunities. A great way to measure workplace culture in advance is by examining a company’s leadership.

Look at a potential employer’s beliefs on things like work-life balance. Examine if management allows for schedule flexibility, personal time off, or other perks such as onsite daycare or fitness centers. Evaluate their views on collaboration and productivity —see if teammates understand how to work well together and if priorities are clear, transparent, and honest.

Ultimately, leaders should lead by example. A company needs to be unified by core values, beliefs, and goals that support productivity and innovation, with management that lives by those values. Look for signs that the leadership adheres to its own corporate ideals. Culture and leadership are two sides of the same coin. The leaders’ values and preferences have a trickledown effect that eventually becomes the culture of the greater group. Leaders shape culture.

One of the best ways to see if leadership is positively contributing to an organization’s culture is to do your research. See if those in charge establish a culture where people can prosper and have fun. Find out if employees feel like part of a family and if their workplace exhibits a sense of value and connection. People should be thriving and taking pride in projects and accomplishments in an environment that encourages interpersonal relationship building.

Effective leaders know their companies’ successes depend on not just a service or product, but the people who carry out the vision day in and day out – their employees.

‘You can design, create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.’ -Walt Disney