What’s your company’s culture, really? Company culture is inevitable. Every place humans exist so does some presence of culture. From your home to your local grocery store, from our West Michigan community to your company’s working environment, culture exists. And in the business world, culture can make or break an organization. Your culture matters! Before we make your culture count, let’s be clear on what it actually means. I find that Gotham Culture says it best, stating, “Organizational culture is defined as the underlying beliefs, assumptions, values and ways of interacting that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization.” Now, let’s take this knowledge and make it work for your organization. 3 Ways to Make Culture Meaningful #1: Be Human! Often, as leaders and managers, we focus on the science of business, dealing with tasks, results, numbers, and clockwork repetition. As we focus on these vital pieces, we forget

In the beginning of my sessions with leadership teams, I preface our time together by saying, “If you have that little voice inside of you, that little piece of you that says I should say something, then say it. We can’t afford to not know the true condition of your organization.” I say this, because sometimes team members feel like their captain is sinking the ship, but they don’t want to mutiny. So they keep silent. Is Your Captain Sinking the Ship? You’re in the midst of a storm, doing the best you can in your role. The storm continues to roar on, bringing bigger, more difficult challenges. There’s a chance your crew could survive this, but your captain seems to be guiding the ship into the roughest areas, the highest waves, and heading towards certain doom—taking the ship, the crew, and the mission straight to the bottom of the

Your ability to tackle issues directly correlates to your company’s ability to succeed. No matter the size, complexity, financial strength of your organization, it will have issues, known and unknown. Your company’s success doesn’t rely on having no Issues, but on your employees’ ability to identify and solve the Issues that exist. If your company doesn’t think you have issues, how can you succeed? Who Doesn’t Have Issues? Andy, CEO and founder of an industrial supply company, walked into the room with his leadership team of five one morning. His team had printed the required material to begin our Quarterly meeting. Among the documents was an Issues List. I glanced at the materials and the Issues List and immediately noticed there were only four Issues! That itself was an issue. Throughout the meeting, as the leadership team interacted with each other, I began to note all the Issues being added

Maggie was poised and ready for her first day as Marketing Manager for a large toy supplier. She had a series of questions during her first meeting with her Director, Doug. She asked, “What are your expectations for me in this role?” “I expect you to be great!” Doug said with confidence. “I can be great—but, for example, how many new social media followers do you expect per week?” Doug shrugged. “I don’t have a precise answer for that.” “How many product launch presentations are to be conducted each week?” Doug shook his head. “I’m not sure, exactly.” “So, what is your definition of great?” Maggie asked. “Put it this way,” Doug said. “I expect big things from you, but I don’t have anything specific for you.” Maggie stood befuddled, experiencing the exact scenario that plagues manager-employee professional relationships over and over again. It’s an endless cycle of ambiguity and

n a perfect world we would be thrilled about the next meeting on our calendar. Excited for those riveting moments that take place while seeing our colleagues in action. Anticipating the course changes we may decide on that will have a profound impact on our company’s future. But that’s a distant world from the reality we live in. I was preparing to lead a meeting of two dozen managers on being a great leader and manager. Just before the meeting began I heard someone grumble, “Meetings, meetings, meetings!” I had only heard it, and couldn’t make out who said it. Typically, I’m put off by remarks like that. How can someone prejudge something they haven’t experienced? This time was different. What I heard out of this person’s mouth was absolute truth. It was an honest displeasure for meetings, time and time again. He was expressing a helpless here-we-go-again attitude. He

Do you find moments of truth to be elusive in the workplace? Even if you’re at a place that is ethical and are surrounded by people that aim to do the right thing, the truth can still be elusive. And when we don’t have complete truth in the workplace, perception wins. I want to share with you some examples when perception contradicts reality, and help you to implement truth in the workplace. The Slacker and The Workhorse – Perception and Reality Perception – Workhorse: Our charismatic salesperson is out of the office working hard with contractors, customers, and prospects. Seems like a leader. Reality – Slacker: The salesperson is spending the day at home and making personal errands. They have more complaints from customers than any other salesperson. Perception – Slacker: The CEO doesn’t do any work, has been taking a bunch of vacations and comes in late. Reality – Workhorse: The CEO works