Culture is not catered lunches,exposed brick, keg parties and ping pong tables
As a consultant that has worked with leaders and leadership teams on workplace culture for 15 years, I am delighted that workplace culture seems to be on the agenda of many C level executives today and so pleased that start ups are pondering how they differentiate to attract key talent with a culture second to none. The frustration I have is that all too often people equate great cultures to nerf gun fights, exposed brick, herman miller chairs, catered lunches, kegs parties and ping pong tables.
Culture is a result of the shared values and beliefs of the leaders and how employees perceive “the way we do things around here”. The points above are results of culture, but they are not culture. Too often companies try to copy the culture of companies like Google and Zappos. Don’t do that. If you force events or processes that are not aligned to the foundational values and beliefs that already exist, they won’t work and in fact, could destroy trust over time.
Check out the great story on client Fiberntics in Canadian Business Magazine and learn what they have been doing to embrace the company’s natural DNA…it’s corporate culture. Learn about some of the outcomes of their work by clicking the “Happy Office Project” link below. And hey, don’t miss their kind shout out to me as their consulant and mentor. Love working with the awesome Fibernetics team.
