Impact of Workplace Culture

I’ve always believed that one key factor in having a motivated and performing workforce is the workplace culture. It is very important that an organization defines the values, vision and mission; and obviously not only simply define them and write them on a piece of document or post it on every wall in your office. Leaders should make sure these values are lived and breathed by everyone.

I’ve been in 4 different organizations in my professional career. What sets each apart is the culture of each company.

There’s no such thing as a perfect working environment. There will always be difficult coworkers, process bottlenecks, etc. But what sets a great organization from a toxic one is how leaders not only embody the values, but also empower everyone to do the same.

As Laszlo Bock says, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’.

I have been lucky to be part of a team that supports individuality, hunger to learn and improve and providing solutions to issues, without the fear of judgement and being rejected.

This creates an environment of continuous learning and empowerment. It’s also my first time to experience an org structure that’s not hierarchal. It just makes everything quicker in terms of decision making and every team member can reach out to anyone in the organization. I guess it’s one of the benefits of working in a smaller team, with a big vision.

It’s definitely challenging, but is always fun and exciting! Our internal survey results also show that employee satisfaction is always at its highest, as team members know that they have a direct impact in the growth and success of the company.

So with that, based on personal experience, if you want to start a business, define your culture, as a leader, you should live and breathe your values, and hire people who you know have these same values to help propel you to success.