Managers are rarely taught the importance of culture or how to build it, so here it is in five sentences.
1. You get the culture you choose to build, so if you invest no time in building it, don’t expect sustained high-performance.
2. Culture sticks when the team has a say in it, because people will protect what they helped to build.
3. Your culture is set by the worst behaviour you are prepared to tolerate, so the standard is whatever you walk past.
4. Your team will copy what you do, regardless of what you say. So ask them what you are broadcasting.
5. Culture is built from micro-experiences such as how you run meetings and how you react to bad news. Build in regular opportunities to challenge some of the things you do and always look to improve.
