I’m often asked what makes a business successful. Not that in some quarters I would be regarded as a success, more a work in progress! Where I believe we are very successful is creating the right culture. For me the culture of an organisation is the key to success.
I like the comment from Peter Ashworth who is CEO of BrightCoach, an Executive and Life Coaching organisation ”working within an organisation of values, character and strong culture will help you be more successful. If you are not there now, you should go and find it”.
A visit to an international company in Poole, Dorset earlier this week, reinforced this message. They have a very clear idea of where they are going and what they want to achieve but realise that they can’t do it without ‘buy in’ from the team. They will be more able to fulfil their potential if they take their team with them and encourage participation in success.
It’s vital to share common goals and communicate benchmarks to success. Good communication is vital but it has to be both upwards and downwards. Companies that aren’t transparent and do not share information typically find it more difficult to achieve success.
Peter Ashworth identifies the benefits of a strong culture aside from the obvious financial implications:
- Good open communication improves collaboration towards the company’s goals
- A shared vision across the entire organisation is likely to lead to greater harmony
- A strong culture of respect among employees, creates mutual trust and co-operation
- Less internal politics creates greater efficiency in making decisions
- Clarity in assisting employees to make sense of their behaviours by providing justification for behaviours – encouraging emotional intelligence
- A reduced employee turnover rate with resultant definitive financial and operational advantages.
None of this comes easy and doesn’t happen by accident. It’s about an attitude of mind. You don’t have to invest much money but you do have to invest a lot of time.
The question is, do you value such an investment?
Kind regards,
Gary
Gary Neild B.Sc.Hons. DipIP PFA
Managing Director
