The modern workplace has reimagined company culture, moving beyond what was considered the “norm” in past generations. The movement to make employee well-being a priority has allowed us to be a little more “human” and has led to better work-life balance. However, prioritizing the health and happiness of employees doesn’t just create a supportive culture, it leads to increased productivity, better talent retention, and enhanced brand image. This cultural shift not only improves employee lives and overall performance but makes organizations more sustainable, a goal of all C-suite professionals.
The CEO’s Role in Company Culture Building
According to research from the Stanford Graduate School, gathered from 460 CEOs across 300+ companies, they found “significant correlations between CEO personality traits and company culture. In another study, researchers found that certain personality traits were associated with both financial and operational performance.” Tracy Lawrence, a CEO herself, highlights in the same article the importance of being self-aware in high profile jobs, noting a “healthy and self-aware leader is not afraid of scrutiny.” It’s okay to let our humanity show, but C-level leaders need to especially be aware of their quirks because they are in the spotlight. The emphasis on self-awareness among high-level executives is also supported by leadership literature, which underscores the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership roles.
People-first Culture
In the past, it was considered taboo to discuss personal “issues” in the workplace, signaling a sign of vulnerability. Meanwhile, “many in leadership today are going in the opposite direction to harness the power of vulnerability to shape a people-first culture while still delivering results” according to Stephanie Casper of Kiavi. Professionals at the C-level can help foster a people-first culture through a variety of ways. For example, allowing yourself to appear “vulnerable” gives employees the comfort they need to feel that perfection isn’t required. Casper emphasizes another key component of people-first culture is acknowledging our humanity and embracing the shared experience of being human. She states, “One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my first manager was that mistakes happen and are perfectly acceptable, so long as you’re honest about them. She used to tell me, “If you mess up, just own it, and I’ll have your back to fix it. But if you try to hide the mistake so that I don’t know about it, I can’t help you fix it.” When you truly lead a people-first culture, you’re also fostering an environment for open communication between employees, managers, and the C-suite.
The Importance of Middle Level Leadership
While the C-suite plays a significant role in company culture, you cannot dismiss the importance of every employee’s role, more specifically, middle level managers. An article from MIT Sloan states, “for a business to harness the power of culture, it needs midlevel leaders across the organization — the managers and team leaders — to go beyond believing that they are responsible for culture to actively building it.” Furthermore, research from MIT Sloan shows that many middle managers feel that they should reinforce current culture rather than help to improve it. They also found that the “most successful midlevel leaders find ways to link the “big-C” culture of their organization — its official set of values — with the “small-c” culture that plays out in the narrower and vibrant daily patterns of interaction.” Big-C culture concerns organizational core values while small-c are the actual practiced values. C-suite leaders can send formal corporate messaging about core values with slogans and mottos, but middle managers need to demonstrate the big-C culture in their day-to-day interactions with their teams.
Developing a strong company culture is a strategic process that involves leaders at all levels. From the C-suite to middle managers, the commitment to a people-first, and values-based culture is key to creating a positive and productive workplace. As workplace norms continue to change, building company culture is becoming increasingly important in achieving long-term success.
Resources: Fast Company, Only When Leaders Embrace Their Vulnerability Can They Build a Truly People-First Culture, Forbes, Personality Check: How CEOs Influence Company Culture, MIT Sloan, Building Culture From the Middle Out
