We are currently in uncharted territory in this country. For the first time in a long time—perhaps ever—there are more jobs than people to fill them. That means they don’t have to take the first job off the street—they have choices.
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Let me begin with a statement gleaned from many years of building companies and leading people:
People join a company, but they leave a culture.
Defining Culture
“Culture” is a much-used buzzword these days. I have arrived at my own definition of culture that works for us: the sum of a group of people’s hopes, preferences, traditions, experiences, and beliefs.
The implications of this definition reach far and wide. For one thing, this means that every time someone leaves your organization, the culture changes. That change might be almost invisible to the naked eye, but a good leader will recognize the movement in the force and recalibrate accordingly.
This definition also means that the work to build a great culture is ongoing. There’s no finish line. Every day, we as leaders come into work and continue the task of building a culture that leads to fulfillment for those we lead and serve.
Building Culture Is Hard Work
Creating culture is a simple idea but not an easy one.
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It’s a lot of work, but it’s vital for your people that you figure this out for your organization. The people you lead may love your products and services. They may even love you as a manager. But that’s not nearly enough.
We are wired as people to find fulfillment in our work. When we are not in the kind of culture that allows it to happen, we know it. There is a longing that never goes away, a pining for a fulfilling role that allows all of the pieces of the puzzle—our strengths, our talents and gifts, our calling and purpose in life as best we understand them, etc.—to merge into feeling fulfilled in what we do every day. And when it doesn’t happen here, we start searching in hopes it will happen there, wherever there is.
Creating a Fulfilling Culture
So, how do you make this happen in your organization? I can tell you from a lot of trial and error that it is not easy, and it requires a daily and even an hourly commitment to creating a culture of fulfillment. Pizza parties and bowling nights are good things, but they alone will not foster the deep relationships necessary to make a fulfilling culture happen.
The good news is that it’s doable. I know this because after many failures and missteps, we have built this kind of culture at my company. We learned from every failure and took what we learned there into the next effort.
We have a very diverse workforce of extremely talented people who care about my business as much as I do. They understand our purpose, and they obsess over it every day. They love their teams, and they lead them with integrity. We have built not only a culture of fulfillment but also a highly profitable one, as well. I am grateful for all of it. It is fulfilling for me to come to work every day and be a part of it and see it unfold.
So, as you lead every day, lead with love. Get to know your people. Really understand their hopes, preferences, traditions, experiences, and beliefs. Have the deep conversations and interactions you need to have to make this happen.
Then, get busy building a culture that retains your best.
 Chris Meroff is an owner, author, entrepreneur, and leader of MSB Ventures and Alignment Leadership. Meroff has made a career of testing new leadership ideas to see what works—and what doesn’t—in service-oriented leadership. What he has gleaned from his research has helped him build a fast-growing organization with a diverse and engaged workforce that understands the mission of his organization and their place in it. His business, Alignment Leadership Consulting, exists to teach leaders how they too can boldly pursue a workplace culture that prioritizes employee fulfillment. |