What is the Role of Leadership in Changing Culture?
One of the most important yet often overlooked roles in business is that of a leader. The role of leadership can be seen in many aspects of business, not least of which is in changing the culture of a company. To have a culture that is constantly evolving, it’s paramount that there are people in leadership who can guide and direct the change. This is where one encounters some of the most challenging aspects of leadership. Not only must they navigate through the potential shoals of bureaucracy, and internal and external stakeholders, but they also have to constantly adjust as well as determine the beliefs of the organization.
Measuring Company Culture
How do your employees feel about the company and their work? Does management have a good understanding of the business? How are employees rewarded? How are decisions made? The answers to these questions will start to provide you with a picture of your company’s culture. Measuring the responses over time will also allow you to determine whether the leadership team is positively influencing the company culture. Therefore, it is important to identify the best employee survey platform and use it consistently to gauge the impact of any changes to the culture of your company.
Here are some examples of where the role of leadership, help, and advice is required in changing the company culture for the better:
1. Leading a team towards new goals
The most common example of leadership is making sure that you have the best people working for you. Having top talent is vital, but it only goes so far. The leader is not just concerned with getting the best people for the job, but making sure that they’re getting the proper training, guidance, and support to help your business achieve its goals.
2. Developing a culture of quality
To develop a good culture, you need to make sure that everyone is doing their job. Quality systems (quality assurance) and processes need to be in place, and they need to be followed correctly. This ensures high-quality standards, which in turn leads to happy customers.
3. Encouraging excellence
There’s a balance between putting systems in place and letting them do the work for you. Leaders need to encourage excellence from their teams and make sure that they take advantage of every opportunity. After all, it’s impossible to expect every single employee to be at their very best all the time.
4. Allowing risk-taking
Leaders need to allow for risk-taking and innovation. If you’re always playing it safe, you’ll never get ahead. If you don’t allow your team to try new ideas, they won’t develop the skills they need to make your organization better.
5. Encouraging progress
A team’s culture is no different from its individual members’ values. By encouraging progress, your team members are going to be moving ahead and moving forward. This is an important point to keep in mind, as it can make or break a culture. You’re going to have some people who don’t like change—these are the people who are going to be resistant to change and stand in the way of progress.
It’s certainly true that without the role of leadership, a company’s culture would not change for the better. However, the question is how to focus on the most effective way to make sure that culture stays positive and that positive moves are made.
