As an owner of a firm that was once three separate companies, the process of melding and reshaping our culture was a challenging but rewarding endeavor.
When you’re going through a merger, there’s so much going on. Sometimes, answering the question of “who” we are as a firm gets pushed to the back burner compared to “how” we’re going to get the work done and serve our clients.
In retrospect, I wish I had focused more on culture during the merger, because now that we’ve nailed it, the results are phenomenal. Once the other owners and I identified the culture we wanted, here’s how we went about making it stick.
Living the Values
Do as I say, not as I do may work OK in parenting, but at your firm, it won’t fly. Actively sharing your mission, vision, and values with your team is vital, but it’s not nearly as important as living them. When you say one thing and do another, everyone will notice.
Culture starts at the top, and you need to make a concerted effort to live the values you want your team to adopt every single day. Even when you think nobody is watching!
Stories are Sticky
As a leader, it’s your responsibility to recognize and reward the hard work and accomplishments of your team, but what often gets overlooked is celebrating employees who exemplify your cultural values. These are wins, too.
Share stories of team members who embody your culture. Genuine examples make culture feel real.
Build Rituals and Traditions
Every Monday (unless we’re nearing a tax deadline!), our entire team hops on a video call for an all-hands meeting. This meeting is a time for everyone to share good news from their personal life or career.
This small 20-minute weekly investment has done more to bring a dispersed team together than anything else we’ve tried.
Building Culture Takes Addition and Subtraction
The stronger your culture becomes, the easier it is to identify behaviors and people who don’t fit.
While letting people go is never easy, culture is fragile, and you need to have 100% of your team on board. Sometimes, cutting ties and hiring someone else is the only way to protect your culture.
Consistency is Everything
As you develop strategies to strengthen your culture, only implement ideas you can commit to long-term.
Being consistent over time is what really etches your culture into stone. You’re better off choosing smaller initiatives you’re confident you can stick to, than launching something bigger that fizzles out in a month or two.
The Power of a Real Team
Now that we’ve cemented our culture and have the right people in the right seats, our team truly does feel more like a family than a professional group. And now that a clearly defined culture is firmly in place, hiring the right people to slide in and succeed is a breeze.
