The Executive’s Guide to Better Business Results
In our work with CEOs, top executives, and their teams, we have seen that Leadership shapes Culture, and Culture drives Results. Most leaders understand their responsibility for results but often undervalue the role culture plays in achieving them. Our approach will change that.
Over the past twenty years, trends like revamped performance management processes, mindfulness programs, women’s empowerment, unlimited vacation benefits, frozen yogurt machines, and pool tables have emerged in response to a mutual plea from employees and a desire on the part of executives to create environments that are inclusive, attractive, and supportive of an evolving workforce.
While well intentioned and sometimes helpful, they are not the solution to fixing a struggling culture or to achieving top business results.
In the past, “Many [leaders] either let [culture] go unmanaged or relegate it to the HR function, where it becomes a secondary concern for the business. They may lay out detailed, thoughtful plans for strategy and execution, but because they don’t understand culture’s power and dynamics, their plans go off the rails. As someone once said, culture eats strategy for breakfast.” - Harvard Business Review
Culture is serious business and it is the work of serious leaders. If intentionally designed, culture can maximize results, reshape a brand, and reinvigorate a workforce. If left to organically emerge, or if delegated to those responsible for policies, programs and events, it can hijack even the most compelling strategy.
OUR SIX STEP GUIDE TO BETTER BUSINESS RESULTS
Whether you are a thriving start-up fueled by gig workers and a flat governance model or a legacy brand simultaneously operating the business while reinventing it, your culture will drive your results. If you are a leader interested in not only achieving big wins in the short term, but also setting your organization up for sustained success, we are here to guide you.
To increase the probability of achieving top results, we work with leaders to:
Reconnect to their hopes and dreams. Leaders often lose sight of what inspires them.
Describe their business strategy, clearly articulating the outcomes they want to achieve, financially and qualitatively.
Understand their timeline.
Get curious about the leadership behaviors and cultural norms that will drive the outcomes they want.
Determine how they can authentically behave in ways that facilitate the desired outcomes.
Cultivate leadership routines and habits that make culture not something they do but something they are.
THE TOP AND BOTTOM LINES
What do you want to accomplish? This is always our first question. We invest time in clarifying not only the vision and mission, but also the financial outcomes the organization wants to achieve. Questions we consider:
What are the top line and bottom line measures that matter?
What are the growth and operating margin targets, and is the business organized to support them?
Is the current team capable of executing? How practical are the priorities and the execution roadmap?
What needs to get done that isn’t getting done, and why?
Understanding each organization’s unique set of priorities and financial targets is key to defining a fit-for-purpose talent strategy and culture.
HEALTHY CULTURE = AUTHENTIC CULTURE
Just like individuals suffer from Imposter Syndrome, so do organizations. We believe there is no one-size-fits-all definition of a “healthy” culture, other than it needs to be authentic to the brand and the desired outcomes. Don’t waste your time implementing the attributes of someone else’s culture. For example, a talent strategy for a high growth company will make no sense to a legacy company prioritizing margin optimization. Take the time to understand what enables the fulfillment of your desired business results, investigate what gets in the way of progress, and imagine what, if cultivated, could change the game. And count on us to help you navigate the journey.
THE FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP
I once worked for a leader whose management philosophy was “do what I say not what I do.” He saw his behaviors above reproach because of his positional authority. Yet, he didn’t understand that he was giving others permission to behave the same way, creating a toxic culture.
Today, enlightened leaders understand that they cast a shadow, and their behaviors set the standard. However, too often they see their culture shaping duties in the “big moments,” the times when they are on stage communicating to the masses. They overlook the importance of their day to day decisions, the way they approach conflict, their commitment to accountability, the way they either support their team or abandon them, etc. The way leaders behave in the big moments and address the seemingly little things, together, shape the culture.
Further, the quality, alignment, and behaviors of leadership teams affect the long-term equity of an organization.
In the article, Three Ways Leaders Should Shape Culture, Deloitte shares that, “On average, organizations that were perceived to have ineffective leadership were at a 19% equity discount. Companies with effective leadership, on the other hand, exhibited an equity premium of up to 15%.”
This article continues to share that, “According to analysts, Senior leadership effectiveness was more important than earnings forecasts and ratio analysis. And one of the biggest factors that can hinder a leader’s ability to effectively drive results is failing to align with, act on, or uphold the organization’s values.”
Seen in a recent HBR article, Gartner surveyed 7,500 employees and nearly 200 leaders at global companies reporting that on average, 69% of employees don’t believe in the cultural goals set by their leaders, 87% don’t understand them, and 90% don’t behave in ways that align with them. By closing these gaps, Gartner says, companies are 9% more likely to meet or exceed their annual revenue goals.
It is the attitude, stance, and posture of those in leadership that will ultimately shift environments and impact the top and bottom line. How leaders think, feel, and portray their beliefs around things like risk taking, experimentation, placing non-traditional people in leadership roles, and exiting high profile money makers who violate cultural norms will either serve to build or erode the culture.
THE END RESULT
We firmly believe that Leadership shapes Culture and Culture Drives Results. For case studies, look at Warby Parker, Edward Jones, Uber, and Carillion. No longer a soft topic or one that gets shoved to the bottom of the funding priorities, it’s time to realize that Culture is fundamental to achieving better business results. Culture is serious work for serious leaders.
Not sure where to start? We’re here to help. The work of people and culture is part science, part art, and it’s where our expertise shines. Shaped by years of management consulting, a decade of C-suite experience, and a deep care for humans, Collective Confidence brings a unique perspective and a proven track record. Because we’ve been in the trenches, we understand the levers and dials across all aspects of human capital, and we customize the settings to fulfill your business strategy.
IMPACT OF COLLECTIVE CONFIDENCE
Collective Confidence guides leaders to create healthy cultures that deliver impactful business results. CEOs, Senior Leaders, and their teams work with us, as an objective partner, to scale, evolve and transform their organization so they can collectively achieve their goals in a confident and authentic way. We look forward to working alongside you to help you and your organization confidently achieve your ambitious dreams!
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