Our Company is Cultured-Or Is It?

In the past after 35 years leading teams of all sizes, I thought I knew exactly what defined a good company culture. And yes, I believed that we had better than most if not all in our market. But did we?

Looking back, company culture seemed to be defined by the leadership. WE knew what good company culture was. WE provided a safe and secure workplace with what we considered special care. WE claimed that our culture was good. But was it? Did we listen to what those on our team considered to be a good workplace environment? Not always. In fact, occasionally I could hear us telling the staff how good they had it, how well they were treated, how much we “cared.” The backgrounds of the leadership tended to be different than that of our 400 staff members. We came from a place of privilege, of extensive education, of financial stability, of certainty of a future and therefore we acted as if we knew best to set the workplace culture.

Looking back I don’t think I would change a thing. I truly cared deeply for our staff members…..all of them. If I knew better at the time, I would have done better as a keeper of the soul, of the culture of the company. All I can do is to improve going forward. Be a better listener, be a better colleague, provide a space of trust, safety and stability where everyone can achieve what they wish-not by my standards or society’s standards, but by the standards of the individuals served.

Never too old to learn.