Building Relationships

The only way one person can accomplish a great culture in a company is if the company consists of only that one person. Great cultures take teamwork. It takes buy-in from all in the company, especially the executive suite.

Recently, Thought Leadership League conducted a survey of executives asking what factors lead to a good culture. When asked to pick the factors that contribute to a great culture, 86% of all participants selected as one of the most important Executive Team Commitment.

What does it take to get team commitment? How do you get your executive team to build a good culture?

Leaders who stay in touch with issues and concerns of individuals in the work group have employees with higher levels of employee satisfaction and commitment. In the Zenger/Folkman research these leaders were perceived as being able to balance “getting results” with a concern for others’ needs.

That does not mean that they are not focused on achieving results. Rather they balance individual needs against organizational deadlines and demonstrate that they value the individual. They create strong positive relationships with team members. Strong teams are built through strong relationships, and strong teams build strong cultures.

Great companies don’t settle for good culture. They strive to be beyond good, beyond great, they strive to have an ELITE culture. The challenge is to push beyond the typical outline of what is good and to achieve a “best in class” attitude and action that permeates the whole organization.