What is culture’s job in your firm?

It’s easy to think of culture like your brother-in-law who needs to crash in the basement for a few months. Something that is there, something that we live with, something that isn’t that big of a deal.

Culture is not your brother-in-law.

Culture has a job in your firm. That job? To create the environment for your people to do their best work.

The big question: Is your culture doing it’s job well? If so, then your people are able to do their best work. If culture is slacking off, then your people’s work will reflect that.

Of course, in reality culture is an abstraction. It’s the manifestation of the weighted but collective norms, beliefs, and behaviors of the individuals that make up the firm. We can’t point to the culture and fire it for underperforming, because the finger points right back at us.

What are we doing to intentionally create a culture that allows our people to do their best work?

Not sure where to start? Here are some questions to ponder:

– What are your feedback rhythms?

– Have you co-created individual development plans for your team members?

– How are they being technically mentored?

– What social opportunities are there?

– How competitive are the pay, benefits, and perks?

– How well are you aligning work with interests and growth?

– How impactful are your core values and mission?

– How do you show appreciation?

Creating a performance culture is in our hands. It’s something that get shaped by effort over time. But we have to be consistent and we have to be intentional.