What are you cultivating originally from August 24th, 2018 FPC Newsletter
Written by Angel Santiago
What are you cultivating?
Culture is defined as what people do, their actions and what they mean to them and those around them. Culture is the ideas, interests, values, and attitudes shared by a group. But let’s break the word down a bit. To culture is to maintain suitable conditions for growth to take place. A cult, in its original use, means devoted attention to a particular person or thing. The word cultivate is to foster the growth of…Organizations are made up of people; therefore, you grow the people, not the organization. As the people within the organization grow, as a result, so does the organization. Based on all of this, having an organizational culture means to devote time and attention to the people that make up your organization – team members and clients – and ensure that you’re cultivating a suitable environment that fosters their growth.
Your culture is the stage for actions to take place. The intricate pattern of how people do things, what they believe in, what is rewarded and penalized. It is the how and why people do what they do in your organization. And what people do in an organization reflects its culture, it is the stage on which they play. Who sets the stage? The leaders do. So whatever people do on that stage tells us about their leaders. Understand that as you change, so will the stage, and thus the behavior of those in your organization.
Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, said in one of his speeches:
“We now know where productivity – real and limitless productivity – comes from. It comes from challenged, empowered, excited, and rewarded teams of people. It comes from engaging every single mind in the organization…making everyone part of the action and allowing everyone to have a voice – a role – in the success of the organization.”
This is what you need to devote your time and attention to and ensure that you are cultivating. An open, balanced company that is highly productive because you invest in the growth and success of its people and you allow and empower them to bring who they are to work and be themselves. Know this, understanding your company culture is not something you can think about, it is something you do, day in and day out; it’s an organic process. It’s in the backgrounds, skills, traditions, communication, decisions, myths, fears, hopes, dreams, aspirations, expectations, and the experience of each and every one of the members of your organization.
Let me ask you this. What are the chances that if you dump a box of puzzle pieces out on a table they’d fall perfectly into place and create a completed puzzle? Not likely. What you’d get is a mess, disorder. Like anything in life, in nature, in the universe, it naturally moves towards disorder – if left unchecked. If you want order and stability, you have to spend some time, effort, and energy creating it. Like your culture, you have to complete the puzzle. You have to create a cohesive team that will help you succeed. Successful teams require communication, collaboration, willingness, and effort; without it, things will decay.
If you want to ensure the success of your organization? Devote time and attention to the people that make up your organization – team members and clients – and ensure that you’re cultivating a suitable environment that fosters their growth. It starts with you.