COLIN ON CULTURE
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Challenging Dumb Cultural Norms
You don’t need permission to stop doing the things that are getting in the way of high value, productive work. Be the change!
You can't do more with less. However...
Sometimes you have to say ’no’. Teams that focus on doing fewer things to a high level of quality, will always achieve more than those that are overwhelmed by work.
Leadership is not a Checklist
It’s not a list that you’ll never be able to live up to, a pithy saying or a lesson you can easily learn. Leadership takes focus and intentional action, every day.
Culture Change? Start with the little things
Like many things in life, little and often is a great way to make positive changes and your workplace culture is no different. If you want to stop paying lip service to great culture and actually get on with creating one, start small.
Most employees can't work hybrid
Successful hybrid working requires emotional and organisational maturity - and recognition that it is actually only an option for the minority of workers. We need to re-design our cultures around how work gets done - not where.
Is Too Much Culture Stuff a Bad Thing?
If your culture ‘stuff’ is getting in the way of your culture evolution then it’s time to simplify by focussing on what really matters and making sure you move from ticking boxes to taking ownership.
10 Culture Skills All Managers Must Have
We need to do more to provide managers with the skills to build and evolve high performing teams and cultures - this is the path to consistent results.
Waiting to fix something that’s broken
Cracked cultures won’t fix themselves - the problems will build up until bursting point. This is a cautionary tale of what happens when we wait to do the work to improve the workplace
Three culture questions my clients always ask me
Cultures are unique but there are common threads, barriers to success and sticking points that all organisations experience. Here’s three and my insights on how to navigate them.
The importance of building a speak up culture
Leaders are good at telling people to speak up, but often don’t do anything with the information. Here are my insights into how to create a true 'speak up' culture.
Culture is about Choice
Making good choices about how we spend our time can have a significant impact on our productivity, happiness, workplace culture and overall wellbeing.
5 Risks of Neglecting Your Culture
You believe in culture but can’t get others on board - sometimes people only pay attention when they know what’s at risk.
10 Signs Your Organisation is Paying Lip Service to Culture
There’s no point saying culture is a priority if you’re not going to back up your words with actions. Here’s some ways you might be NOT working on your culture.
Lazy Communication Hurts Culture
Communication is an important culture conduit that we often get very wrong.
By putting just a little more thought and intent into our communication we can build bridges rather than put up walls.
Who’s responsible for toxic culture?
Culture belongs to everyone - but we have to intentionally create the conditions for a vibrant culture that encourages ownership and that means managers and employees need to know what’s expected of them and why.
Running the other way
It takes courage to go in a different direction.
Avoiding Mediocrity
Mediocrity is everywhere because it’s easy. With a little bit of effort we can be extraordinary.
The Productivity Paradox
Employees feel they are being productive; managers don’t agree. What’s really going on and who is ultimately responsible for our unproductive days?
Three Culture Traits That Business and Sports Can Trade
There’s winning and then there’s performance - and culture plays a part in both. So what can business and sport learn from each other?
20 Social Activity Ideas
There are hundreds of other things that you can do to mix socially with your colleagues both in-person (now that we’re able to do so in most parts of the world) and virtually, to ensure that emotional capital between humans is maintained and that people make the time for laughter and relaxation