Articulating the culture of an organisation is only one step in intentional culture development. The next step is implementing structure to support and reinforce the desired behaviors. While some would argue that too many systems and policies can hamper innovation and independent thought, even entrepreneurial environments need guidelines enough to establish behavioral norms.

Here are a few strategies to embed and sustain a high-performance culture within your organisation.

  1. The Core: The core framework is the foundation of the high-perfromance culture that articulates the purpose, values and strategic vision. This framework is what establishes conduct expectations and provides clarity regarding the strategic goals of the company. Clarity enables the organisation to be discerning when considering employees, partners and even customers.
  2. Operating systems: Every organisation has processes that must be replicated and the best way to replicate these processes is for them to be mapped out, or systemised. Almost any process can be systemised; from reimbursements and processing customer service requests, to commissions and marketing. Even if a system seems to be working, keep it dynamic by empowering people within the organisation to identify and solve inefficiency as the opportunity arises.
  3. Feedback loop: Providing a system for submitting feedback is a great way to create accountability and a culture of constant improvement. On the customer service side, feedback enables the organisation to make improvements to directly serve the needs of its customers. The internal feedback loop enables those within the organisation to measure and improve alignment. In both instances, action taken based on feedback demonstrates that whomever provided the feedback is a valued member of the community.
  4. Peer-to-peer recognition: A little competition is a good thing. However, negative competition can become toxic. One way to foster a positive and collaborative culture is to encourage colleagues to recognise each other. While it can be nice to be recognised by the leaders at an organisation, there is something powerfully bonding in the knowledge that you have the respect of your peer.

Thank you for reading this post. We regularly write about leadership, high-perfromance culture and innovation. If you would like to leave a comment – we’d love to hear from you.

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