Create a Leadership Culture that will Support your Strategy and boost the performance of the organization
Your leadership culture determines the group- and individual performance
- Culture is not something you are, but something you do with intention and purpose.
- A set of living relationships and skills that work together to achieve a common goal.
- The cultivation of a culture determines the group- and individual performance.
- The culture must support the strategy, because strategy on its own can easily result in stress.
- A working environment of anxiety and stress will hinder the acceleration of performance.
Culture originates from the Latin word Cultus which means Care
- A culture demonstrates the entire spectrum of support and care in an organization.
- Care means watchful- or protective attention, caution, concern, or regard - usually towards an action or situation, often involving people.
- Culture can be defined as the shared set of beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
- It is referred to as invisible behaviour, which results in a set of visible behaviours that give a group its identity and drive.
- Culture is therefore the strongest drive for intrinsic motivation, engagement, and ownership
- Which in turn results in higher levels of performance and productivity.
As a leader, you will always choose your culture - sometimes even unconsciously.
Do you want:
- The warm and energizing cohesion of strong culture?
- Or the chilly dysfunction of weak culture?
- Or maybe the lurching roller coaster of the places in between?
Even strong cultures have plenty of problems.
- But the difference is, that they experience them within strong and secure connections.
- They use the challenges as leverage to learn, improve and succeed.
A modern leadership culture is based on intrinsic motivation
- Intrinsic motivation is a term used to describe the incentive we feel to complete a task - simply because we find it interesting or enjoyable.
- Extrinsic motivation is what we feel when we (have to) complete a task for some external reward or punishment - carrot or stick.
- In comparison to both motivators, intrinsic motivation allows us to perform at our very best.
- Many managers tend to focus unconsciously only on extrinsic motivation, because it has been the most common to them from the industrial age.
- Extrinsic motivation loses soon of its power, the only alternative left is to use pressure - control, fear and anxiety.
- Intrinsic motivation is based on human needs and social principles, which makes all the difference.
Group performance has behaviour that communicates one message:
- 'We are Safe and Connected'.
- In this environment, you will find a Culture of Closeness.
- Resulting in belonging, trust, and safety.
Individual performance has behaviour that communicates one message:
- 'We must manage our Personal Status - for Survival'.
- In this environment, you will find a Culture of Distance.
- Resulting in insecurity, competition, and anxiety.
Culture doesn’t depend on who you are, but on what you do.
- Culture is not a gift you receive; it’s a skill you learn.
- And like any skill, it can be done well or poorly :-).
