3 Secrets to Make your Team Culture Come Alive

Sometimes you experience great service.

An interaction that leaves you thinking – WOW, that person really loves their job!

A problem you had solved in a way that left you happier than if you never had the problem.

A team that seemed like they were having fun rather than working.

How did they do that?

The secret to getting that experience is alignment of the team members around a compelling purpose: shared values.  That sounds simple, right?  Just have a meeting and tell everyone what those values are and why they should feel excited about those values and how they’ll shape the organization’s culture and identity.  What’s missing?

Heart.

This is the underlying reason many organizations fail to achieve a culture that customers notice.

How do you bring it to the next level?

1) Make your core values more than a page in the employee handbook. Create an award system so that members of your team, including leadership, can catch people engaging in behaviors that support the core values.

2) Let your team members honor each other in an annual values awards ceremony. Receiving a core value award should be a higher honor than winning a performance-based award.   If you do that, people will understand that it is an important part of how the organization functions.

3) Bring your heart to work. No one cares what you have to say until they see that you care.  Be intentional about creating real connections in the team.  It all starts with you!

Amy Young, Vice President & General Manager