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Workplace culture is a nebulous term for even experienced business leaders. Defining the concept is difficult, in part, because opinions differ on exactly what organizational culture is and how it impacts results.
But with orthopedic device companies searching for ways to improve team performance in an increasingly competitive industry, it’s something more executives are trying to wrap their heads around.
Actions Speak Louder
Workplace culture is the way that people think and act to get results, according to Jessica Kriegel, Ed.D., Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture at the consulting firm Culture Partners. Her ideas have been featured on CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, NBC, FOX Business and in The New York Times. “The problem is that this is not a widely accepted definition because there are so many people who think about the concept in so many different ways,” she said.
According to Dr. Kriegel, work culture is often confused with numerous factors, from job benefits to the unique cultural backgrounds of a team’s employees.
“Culture is something that feels touchy-feely, and when it feels touchy-feely, there’s a strong focus on values, beliefs and behaviors,” she said. “It can be confused with providing employees with things like ping pong tables and kombucha drinks. Those are perks and benefits. They don’t help to define work culture.”
Dr. Kriegel is the creator of Culture Equation, a structured program that provides companies with strategies to implement and maintain productive work cultures. The program is designed to disrupt conventional assumptions and compel business leaders to take tangible actions that shape and guide their organization’s culture in meaningful ways.
“Many companies believe that workplace culture is leader-led, but it’s ultimately co-owned by everyone in the company,” Dr. Kriegel said. “I worked at Oracle for 10 years and never met Larry Ellison, the CEO. The culture I experienced was not because of his efforts. It was established and cultivated by the people sitting next to me in the trenches doing the work.”
Dr. Kriegel acknowledged that the lack of a widely agreed-upon definition of work culture makes the concept difficult to quantify and manage. She recommends the book Change the Culture, Change the Game by Roger Connors and Tom Smith for leaders who are interested in defining and introducing the concept of organizational culture to their teams.
“I think a lot of companies confuse employee engagement with culture,” she said. “Employee engagement involves determining how focused employees are on the task at hand and how happy they are at work, which is not the same as asking how they think and act to get results.”
Some managers believe that employees who work remotely lose sight of the unique culture and customs of workplaces. That’s a common misconception, according to Dr. Kriegel.
“The way that people think and act is not lost when they work from home,” she said. “You can have a thriving or toxic workplace culture in a virtual environment. The ‘how’ teams work does not determine the culture.”
Dr. Kriegel noted that unique experiences shared by employees in work contexts shape the beliefs that drive their actions and ultimately impact results.
“We all have a series of daily experiences with our managers and peers, and those lead us to beliefs about the nature of the work we’re doing,” she said. “If there’s value in the work and our colleagues are in the grind with us and value our efforts — those are the beliefs that lead us to take action.”
Creating Accountability
Sam Silverstein’s definition of workplace culture differs from Dr. Kriegel’s. “Culture is what’s accepted and repeated,” he said. “Every organization has a culture, either by design or default.”
Silverstein is a corporate keynote speaker who specializes in workplace culture and accountability. A former business owner and executive, his manufacturing and distribution companies sold over $100 million in products and services.
“If it’s acceptable to show up or log on late, that’s the culture,” he said. “If it’s acceptable to talk to someone disrespectfully, that’s the culture.”
Accountability may seem unrelated to work culture, but Silverstein said it’s crucial for setting standards and expectations. He believes accountability involves the ways employees act, not the way they think.
“It’s not about leadership trying to manipulate employees to do more for them,” Silverstein said. “It’s about keeping relational commitments to people. That means if you fail, I fail. I succeed only when you succeed. That’s the leader committing to discovering their employees’ potential and leading them to maximize it. This creates workplace accountability.”
Businesses interested in defining and improving their workplace culture consult with Silverstein to receive a culture audit, which educates and empowers executives through leadership strategies and a deeper understanding of ways their organizations develop core beliefs and values.
“We analyze and measure cultures for engagement and productivity, but also emotional safety, creativity, stress and accountability,” Silverstein said. “We know that accountability is inspired in the culture. You can’t mandate it.”
When leaders inspire accountability by addressing organizational culture, they’re able to create an environment in which employees know that their managers support them, Silverstein noted. He explained that a foundational commitment between leaders and their teams is established when leaders stand behind their teams, even during the toughest of times.
“As soon as that kind of relationship is created, it lets employees know that leaders always have their backs and want to see them grow and develop professionally, even if it means they need to leave the organization to fulfill their potential,” Silverstein said.
He believes leaders often mistakenly believe that the employees they manage are indebted to them simply because they are paid to do a job. “When leaders think that way, they fail to establish relational commitments. The relationships become monetary transactions. As soon as another company pays them more, they’ll leave.”
On the other hand, creating healthy workplace cultures engages productive employees who are committed to the long-term success of organizations. Doing so is an essential element of organizations that are successful in attracting and retaining top talent in today’s competitive orthopedic marketplace.
