In Pursuit Of The Spark
This week I have helped a number of teams work through strategies to strengthen their culture and enhance their growth.
The first two of the six questions Patrick Lencioni covers in his book “The Advantage” are always the ones teams wrestle with the most: “Why do we exist?” and “How do we behave?”
One thing I have had to learn to do (and am constantly reminded and delighted to discover) is to drill down until there is a real spark. It is incredible how individual and personal the answer to these two questions are.
“Why do we exist?” explores a company’s purpose and mission – what Simon Sinek has taken to calling a “Just cause”. Using the ‘5 Why’s” strategy, the goal is to uncover the true driver that keeps business owners and their teams going through all of business’s highs and lows. This inevitably uncovers the essence of the business – the wider impact that the company has. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation exists to remove malaria from the world, Southwest Airlines in the USA exists to connect people to what matters most in their lives through friendly, low cost, reliable air travel.
Many times, we will get to a sentence that I feel encapsulates why the business exists - only to look at the team and realise the sentence is ‘ok’ but not there yet. There will be polite smiles and nods and phrases like, “I suppose that captures it”. This is the exciting stage – the not-quite-there-yet stage. Exploring past this point requires a mixture of encouragement, questions and push. And then it happens – one of the team will say something and like a gas BBQ the spark will light the rest up and an almost instant fire sweeps across the room with exclamations of delight “That’s it!”
Does your mission statement/your purpose/your ‘just cause’ spark you and you team?
Does it give you the courage at the end of a day of failures to say, “We will try again tomorrow”?
Does it shine the light on what is truly important – so important that you ‘just have to’ do it?
A similar experience then repeats as we explore “Core Values”. These are the three to five values that capture the essence of how a team operates. They are the core, the non-negotiable, the ‘riverbanks’ that set the parameters for how the whole team must behave at all times. Values are best stated as verbs – rather than ‘Integrity’ – “We do what we say” and/or “We do the right thing”; rather than ‘Honesty’ – “We tell the truth”.
Some teams find phrases that mean something specifically to them, others pick words that make acronyms. The important criteria is that the team believes in these. They aim to catch team members living their values. They use them when making decisions. They are the reference points in moments of discipline and praise – the guideposts that keep teams aligned.
Do you have clear stated values that the team understands and lives by?
Do you use your values to guide team discussions and behaviour?
Are your values creating team alignment, clarity and safety?
Culture is powerful. Culture can be created. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” because it brings synergy to a team and multiples efforts creating an environment for exponential growth in all team endeavours. Invest the time and intentionally create your culture; and then continue to invest the time in nurturing and supporting the environment you want to work in.
Here’s to your success!
