Company’s culture

In the company where I worked soon after college, I noticed one thing which was common among my colleagues and me, all of us behaved in a similar manner with respect to Integrity, Change management or a Customer’s request.  Though we were from diverse backgrounds,  we were all very predictable.

There was no two ways about integrity and it always withstood the mirror test. When it came to change management, we were upto it, reacting with speed. This was the common trait amongst all my colleagues.

What made people with diverse background behave very similar?

It was the positive influence, the company had on us. I attribute this cultural aspect of the company to the leadership at the top. A leader has to make the people in the company behave in the way he /she wants.

How to make it happen?

There are no easy answers here.  But one thing that stands out is that the leadership team at the top should demonstrate these attributes by action.

Apart from this, the other points that help are that these cultural aspects should be part of the appraisal system, the 360º feedback, rewarding employees who demonstrate this.

What I learnt was that a company’s culture is not created by the people who are hired, but it is the leader at the top who creates it. They create it by matching their words with action.