In order to be a great leader, you have got to be a great role model. Managers often forget that their staff watches their behavior and uses it to guide their own reactions. So what characteristics should the role model of a business—or a non-profit, for that matter—have?
Open Culture
What the Most Successful Leaders Know About Creating an Inventive Culture
From Edison to Jobs to Winfrey, pioneering innovators know how to enroll a team that creates and then supports big ideas. They have learned to create organizations that literally pull great ideas through the ranks instead of empowering people to straight-arm them.
How to Build Your Organizational Structure Based on Trust and Collaboration
Building an organization culture that is based on trust and collaboration starts with leadership. You need to follow through with what you say and be accountable for your actions—or your team will lose faith in your word and ability to be an effective leader.
Building a Culture of Growth
A culture that encourages and rewards growth can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you build an organization, the right emphases and values can be a strong factor for growth. It requires every member of the team, from top to bottom, to buy into the right principles and beliefs.
Reasonable Person Principle
Any time you get a group of people together, there are bound to be misunderstandings and disagreements. How you handle these situations is important for a strong corporate culture. The Reasonable Person Principle is a simple but effective approach to building a culture of trust.
Encourage Independent Thinking
Encouraging independent thinking among your team members will generate new ideas and give everyone a stake in your business’s success. To make it happen, you must be willing to listen and engage with everyone, taking advantage of the different experiences and perspectives of your team members.
Document Your Philosophy
Do you know what your business stands for? Do your team members? Do your customers? A great corporate culture is an important contributor to a business’s success, and documenting your philosophy is a foundational step. Then you need to communicate it to everyone and make sure you uphold it.
Caution in Hiring: One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Bunch
Your corporate culture is only as strong as the people you put on your team. And when you have just a few employees, each one is even more important. When it comes time to hire, make sure to look at how potential employees fit with your culture just as much as you look at skills and experience.
