3 people practices for driving results in your culture

Not long ago, Miriam Webster, the dictionary people, named "culture" the word of the year. I understand why: you can't scan the headlines of any major business news outlet without finding at least one reference to culture each day. A Google search of the word on Forbes' website found more than 26 million references!

For a word that has such popular support, few people really understand what it is. Culture is sometimes mistaken for the Ping-Pong table and Friday afternoon back massages that some companies provide: and while those are nice perks, they do not constitute an organization's culture.

Culture is an organization's tone, and all the policies, processes, values, structures, informal and formal communication, events … and yes, the Ping-Pong table … that shape it.

Management guru Peter Drucker famously said "culture eats strategy for breakfast." This has been true in every organization where I have worked as a leader or consultant: strategic plans are vitally important, but they cannot succeed if the organization's culture undermines progress.

Another management guru, Edgar Schein, said leaders are the "architects of culture." If you're leading an organization or a team, it's your job to build a culture that will produce strategic results through its people.

Our research at the Center for Values-Driven Leadership shows culture starts and ends with people. We find there are three important people practices for shaping the culture you want.

1. Hire for Culture Fit. Hiring people who will bring the right technical skills and cultural mindset to your company takes time. To hire for culture fit, know how to describe your culture then be thorough in your interviewing:

• Do at least three rounds of interviews for any full-time position so you really get to know the candidate.

• Ask behavioral questions that reflect your culture. For example, if your company values honesty, you might ask a question, "Tell me a time when it was hard to tell the truth. Maybe a supervisor was pressuring you to hide facts, or maybe it was difficult news you didn't want to deliver. What was your thought process around the decision?"

• Let the applicant interview you as well. Give the him or her time to peek inside your windows and see the company's real culture and capacity.

2. Train for culture. The early months on a new job include training in the systems that drive your business. Exceptional leaders also build culture training into the onboarding process. This can happen through group training sessions or one-on-one meetings. No matter how you do it, culture training should include:

• An introduction to the values of the company, with time to explore how these values are put into action, especially as it pertains to the new hire's role.

• Sharing stories that reinforce the culture and its positive results.

• Participation by senior leadership in expressing the culture in positive and active terms.

3. Reward for culture fit. Nothing shows the importance of culture more than recognizing your

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best culture leaders. Promotions and financial compensation are the most important way to reward culture fit, but there are nonfinancial means as well, including:

• Public recognition from a CEO or top team leader.

• An email sent directly to the employee - or the employee's team.

• Awards such as parking spaces, certificates, or an extra vacation day

The recognition should come with a clear explanation. For example, in a culture based on honesty, recognition to a sales manager could sound like, "I know the client wanted you to commit to the end of the month for delivering the new software. I appreciate that you didn't promise more than we can deliver."

For leaders who want to develop their capacity to as an architect of culture, we invite you to attend our workshop on Sept. 16. Details are at www.cvdl.org/architects. Or download our free eBook, Making Values Meaningful, http://www.cvdl.org/menu.

• Jim Ludema, Ph.D., is the director of Benedictine University's Center for Values-Driven Leadership, www.cvdl.org, and a professor of global leadership.