2020 has taught us that it’s even more important to have a strong team culture. Leaders are responsible for the organisation of team culture – but the culture is then defined by what happens when leaders are not looking. What you do, how you act as a leader, is what the culture becomes.
Your culture is how you:
- Treat everyone with care – no matter whether they are employees, contractors, consultants, local research assistants or the CEO
- Engage in uncomfortable conversations and listen - accept that you don’t have all of the answers
- Focus on what is important for the staff – not just what is important for the organisation
- Stomp out alpha behaviour including bullying and gaslighting at the first sign – don’t ignore it – it will get worse
- Generate curiosity and an appetite to listen and learn – by doing so yourself
- Ask for help and feel comfortable not knowing everything
You do this by listening and acting, keeping curious, being courageous and honest.
Don’t hide behind risks, issues and donor compliance – show yourself as the person that stands up.
Value for money and risk are not organisational values – do not use it in conversations as though they are – they are just metrics – not paths to follow.
So what?
We love talking to leaders and helping them grow and thrive. Setting a culture takes time and often feels lonely. Want to discuss this further? There’re many ways we can support you as a leader - either book a deep dive coaching session, join our course Unleash Your Inner Leader* or join our Innovation community.
* Unleash Your Inner Leader covers important skills that are often neglected in the aid sector including empathy, grasping other world views, decision-making in uncertainty, prioritisation, networking and more. The course involves online workshops, lasting 6 weeks, from 2nd November 2020.