Creating a Winning Culture
As leaders, we are responsible for many things. Meeting profitability goals, maintaining high service scores, reputation management, selling, recruiting, and the list goes on. But I would argue that our single most important responsibility is to create and maintain a winning culture.
The culture of your organization is the driving force behind your success. A leader should work to create a culture of excellence, kindness, and professionalism. Creating this kind of culture will produce high service scores, a great reputation, and in turn will cause your business to sell itself and create better profitability.
This begs the question, how do we measure our culture? Simple - the culture of your organization is measured by the satisfaction of your team members. As a leader, it’s my job to create the best environment possible for someone to spend forty hours a week.
Much of leadership is about thinking, analyzing, logistics. This is something I have adjusted to slowly over the years as I am an empath by nature and a highly sensitive person. But to be an effective leader, I had to learn the importance of removing emotions from decision making. Culture, however, is about feelings. Perhaps why I enjoy the topic so much. Culture has everything to do with how your team members feel inside your organization.
So how do we go about creating this kind of culture? I truly feel like I could write a book on this topic alone as it’s one I’m so passionate about, but today I will share just three things that will help you create a winning culture.
Give your team purpose. Make sure they understand the difference they can make in their role. We are all selling some sort of product, whether it’s cars, a savings account, baked goods, or hotel rooms. You may have a few excellent “salesmen” in your organization who find the paycheck enough of an incentive to perform at their best. But most often we are working with genuine individuals who will sell our product well if they believe in it. This looks different for everyone, depending on your line of work. In the hotel business, we can turn someone’s day around by having a genuine welcoming attitude during check-in. We also have the opportunity to create a memorable experience for families on vacation. Or we can even provide comfort for someone who’s traveling for a medical procedure, by ensuring their room is perfectly clean and comfortable for them.
For most people, it needs to be more than clocking in and out for a paycheck. Team members perform their best when they believe in what they’re doing and understand the impact they can make.
Set clear expectations. If you don’t build your culture with clear direction and standards, team members will create their own. You must be clear about what’s important to you. Certain things must be non-negotiable. We don’t let a guest walk by without smiling and saying hello, no matter what we are in the middle of doing at the time. We arrive to work on time as this is our commitment to our fellow team members. We always look professional, in proper uniform and well groomed. These are things that make organizations like Disney and Delta so consistently exceptional, and basic standards we should all have in our workplace culture.
When I first became a GM, I sat down with each member of my leadership team and made my expectations clear on certain things. One of those things is gossip. I explained that gossip would not be tolerated in any shape or form as it is a waste of time and a cancer in any workplace. Furthermore, I am invested in developing confident professionals, and true confidence is not concerned about gossip. I am not naive enough to think that no one ever gossips within our organization. However, by setting the expectation and leading by example, I can say we certainly do not have the gossip issues that most workplaces have. This promotes a peaceful workplace.
I have had the privilege of opening two award winning hotels, with two different hotel brands. The opening managers at both hotels made it clear from the beginning that our hotel would eventually be #1 in the company. Both hotels met this goal within the first year of opening. It was simply the expectation, and with the right tools and motivation, we made it happen. Even an expectation that high can come to life if you set the standard with your team early on.
Challenge and develop your team members. Let your team be a part of the business in ways that extend from their role. Ask them where they want to end up, so you can help them reach their goals. Sometimes they don’t even realize they can go any further until someone cares enough to unlock their potential. Team members with goals are going to be far more motivated to perform well than team members who are just pushing through each day for a paycheck. As a leader, I want to develop my team both professionally and personally.
I know there is a fine line when it comes to getting personal with team members. But I will always push the limits when it comes to their development, in work and in life. If I really want them to grow, I am going to dig deeper- encourage them to quit their bad habits, to step out of their comfort zones, to be better than they think they can be. I know I have an incredible opportunity to influence their lives in a positive way, and I’m going to take full advantage of that.
At the end of the day, your culture is your livelihood. It’s what attracts exceptional team members, and in turn what creates customer satisfaction and loyalty. This all plays into your success as an organization overall. Of course, building this type of system takes a little more effort, but everything worthwhile does. Creating this type of culture will make a positive impact on your team members, and make your work all the more meaningful.
“Culture is how employees’ hearts and stomachs feel about Monday morning on a Sunday night.”
