Leadership and Culture

Culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, behaviors, and customs that characterize a group or organization, and, hopefully, sets it apart from others.

Establishing a culture within your organization is critical, as it helps create a sense of unity and purpose. It is also foundational to helping promote collaboration and teamwork, in order to improve not just the overall performance of the organization, but the performance of the individuals contributing to the organization.

Additionally, a strong culture can help to attract and retain top talent, as people are often drawn to organizations that have a positive and inclusive culture. A culture that is based on shared values and a clear sense of purpose can also help to motivate and engage employees, which can lead to improved productivity and success.

There are two paths to leadership; either you are a leader building a company or team, or you were hired or promoted into your position. In the first case, you have more freedom to set the culture, but in the later case you are entering a position or organization where the culture already exists, and you need to be able to understand adapt to the existing culture. You might be tempted to try and change the culture in this situation, and there might be valid reasons to do so, but first, you need to understand the existing culture, and, more importantly, why it exists and how it came about.