Building a Strong and Successful Culture: The Power of Little Things

Featuring Daniel Coyle, this was a podcast on The Learning Leader Show hosted by Ryan Hawk, it is Podcast #468.

Fostering an Environment of Connection and Learning

Creating a successful culture is not just about having happy employees. Rather, it's about fostering an environment where teams can work together to solve tough problems and build strong relationships. It's about focusing on the little things in between and creating those connections that ultimately lead to a positive and productive culture.

The Misconception of Successful Cultures

There is often a misconception that successful cultures are happy places. However, the kind of happiness in these cultures is deep fun - solving hard problems with people you admire. In top-performing cultures, the focus is on tackling task or work problems, not people problems. This means that instead of dealing with issues between team members, businesses are focused on solving bugs, improving the business model, and working on other challenging problems. Strong cultures aren't immune to mistakes, but they learn from them and continuously improve.

Doing Hard Things Together to Build Strong Cultures

To build a successful culture, teams need to do hard things together. This can lead to amazing results, but it requires patience and humility from leaders. The power of leaders lies in how they can support their teams, not in acting like a great leader. In fact, if someone says they're a great leader, it's often a red flag. The focus should be on the team, and how they can work together to achieve greatness.

The Importance of Learning

Learning is a crucial aspect of successful cultures. In a world where everything is constantly changing, we need to focus on how we can get a little better every day. Many cultures have a deep desire to learn in common, but it's important to stay connected and create psychological safety in the workplace. This means creating a space where everyone has a voice and feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.

The Power of Vulnerability

Vulnerability is also essential in building strong cultures. Moments of vulnerability can create magic and help teams learn and grow. When everyone feels safe, all ideas are welcome, and the team can work together to overcome barriers and solve problems. Creating psychological safety in the workplace means creating a space where everyone has a voice and feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.

Regular Evaluation and Check-Ins

To build a strong culture, it's important to regularly evaluate how the team is working together. Asking questions like "Are we working well together?" and "What's working?" can create situational awareness and help identify areas for improvement. It's also important to schedule regular check-ins to set expectations, pause to evaluate progress, and learn from experiences.

The Power of Little Things

One way to create a successful culture is by focusing on the power of little things. Larry Page, co-founder of Google, famously showed how one small action can make a big difference. He wrote "THESE ADS SUCK" on a whiteboard, which prompted someone who wasn't working on the ads to step up and improve them. This kind of mentality - that everyone is part of a bigger thing - can help build strong relationships and create a culture of continuous improvement.

Regularly Questioning the Status Quo

Good cultures also regularly question what they've been doing for a long time that is no longer useful or effective. This creates a space for teams to figure things out together and create new ways of working. By stopping to think and process experiences, teams can learn and grow.