Executive development program that give you the edge

3. Creating Group and Organisational Success

Creating a Culture of Success: The Group Path to Peak Performance

Maintaining High Morale Amongst Your Staff

Creating a Culture of Success: The Group Path to Peak Performance

by Steve Wells

Of all the factors that determine the success of a group or organization, the organisational "culture" must be top of the tree. By "culture" we mean the attitudes and beliefs held by the group about "Who we are and how we do things". This is the group's identity.

Your identity is how you see yourself. Group identity is how "we" see "us". How you see yourself determines how you will act. As Zig Ziglar states "You will never act consistently in a way that is inconsistent with how you define yourself." Likewise, people in a group will have trouble acting in a way that runs counter to the group identity - or culture. If the culture is positive "The way we do things around here" can work to build and enhance the performance of everyone in the group. All too often however, the culture that develops is negative and can deflate the potential of everyone who comes into it. Statements like "We've never done it like that in the past" are used as justification for inertia. New initiatives and ideas are squashed by those who wish to protect their comfort zones. Sound familiar?

All changes that are made in any organization must be filtered through the beliefs of those within it. Beliefs are like filters - they block out other options.

To create a change in culture we need first to identify the limiting beliefs that are holding the group back - then identify some more positive and enhancing beliefs and start building and reinforcing those. (The same process we need to follow if we want to make personal changes and achieve our personal best).

When I first went to work with the Perth Heat baseball team I spoke with some key people and heard three variations of the statement "We always choke in the finals" within the first 30 minutes. After the third time I interrupted and proposed a change which ultimately would lead to a change in the culture of the organization and the team. "If you continue to say "We always choke in the finals" then that is what you will continue to do. You used to choke in the finals that is true - But this is a new team, a different team to last year, and we are going to take a different approach, an approach that will lead us to win the championship". From that moment on we sought to imbue everyone in the team and the organization with this new way of seeing things and doing things - a new vision of how they were going to be and where they were going to go. By focusing on the future reality they wanted to create rather than the past reality they were frustrated with, they were able to take a different path that inevitably led to them winning the championship trophy that year.

Creating a cultural change can be as simple as identifying the major limiting belief that is holding you or the group back and replacing it with a new belief, a new way of looking at things.

Once you have identified the beliefs that would make you more successful, you need to embark on a process of constant repetition and reinforcement in order to get this belief established in the underlying culture. Get everyone - at very least the key influencers - to identify the problem state and the desired state. Make it clear to everyone. "We're not happy with the way things have been, we're going to change things around here - and this is how we're going to be from here on out".

Reward highly the early adopters of the new beliefs. Le Beouf calls this the greatest management principle in the world: What gets rewarded gets done. It is not enough to come up with a new cultural idea. You need to reinforce it so everyone sees the value in adopting it.

Actions for Today

Remember: The actions taken by key influencers such as you are crucial to getting the cultural shift to occur. So don't just talk the talk, walk the walk. Do what Ghandi says and BE the change you want to see in others. Start acting today as if the new culture were already established. And act that way every day. Create a shift inside yourself and others will change in response to you.

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Maintaining High Morale Amongst Your Staff

by Terry Power

High morale is vital if you are to maximise the performance of your staff. It impacts on every facet of your organisation’s overall effectiveness. Without high morale the feeling of success will always elude your team no matter what incentives are in place. At the risk of labouring the point, we believe, high morale is the cornerstone of any successful organisation. So how do you create, maintain and continue to build it? The short answer is to lead by example. In practice it is a little more difficult than this, but it is most certainly achievable. What follows are some guidelines to instil high morale for yourself and throughout your organisation.

Self-honesty. Always promote self-honesty by leading by example. Simply put, if you say you are going to do something then go ahead and do it. This is not only good self-honesty but also terrific time management. Ultimately you will only commit to those things that you have time for. Make your word, your bond.

Response-ability. Responsibility is really the ability to respond ably in any situation. Promoting responsibility for your own actions sends a clear message to others that they too should hold themselves accountable for the job they do. By taking responsibility people are less likely to get into blaming the system, the organisation or the technology. Instead they will look for solutions.

Integrity. Always act with total integrity. Know that the things you are doing are aligned with your beliefs and your core values. People can easily tell when you are being congruous and sincere, and are therefore more inclined to reciprocate in kind. Centre yourself in your own competence, and always be true to yourself and others (especially when they are absent)

Trust. Be prepared to follow through what feels right for you. Trust in your personal confidence. Trust that what you have done is good enough. Don’t buy into perfectionism. Trust in your team, and in the job they have been delegated to do. And then, when you catch them doing something right, acknowledge them.

Risk. Take risks and be prepared to except the consequences. Create a willingness to go with the unknown. Allow creativity to flow through and around you. Reward risk-taking as a part of necessary growth. Be prepared to step into the unknown with your staff – you never know what you may find.

Listen. Listen, not only to others but also to your higher-self and your purpose. Listening to your heart will build trust with your intuition. Value yourself for who and what you are right now. And encourage others to do so. Don’t seek the approval of others, seek the approval of yourself. Then, and only then, will your motivation become intrinsic.

Self Honouring. Have a quiet sense of self respect in everything you do. Reward yourself for tasks well done, irrespective of the significance of that task. Don’t wait until the job is completed, honour yourself every step of the way.

High Morale and self-esteem are contagious. But they begin with you. In the final analysis, honesty beget honesty, respect begets respect and trust begets trust. The best managers don’t just manage – they lead.

Specific Action Steps

Choose one of the seven attributes above and commit to working on it this week. Tell others of your intention and enlist them in encouraging you to live up to your commitment. Once you have mastered this attribute you can then lead by example.

Look for others exhibiting these attributes and openly reward them for their efforts. Create a reward system which acknowledges acts congruent with your organisations ‘high-morale’ values.

This article may be copied and forwarded to others as long as the author's details and copyright attribution is included.