The Culture Engine

Introduction

Is your workplace frustrating and lifeless, or is it engaging and inspiring?

When you think of your work environment, what descriptors come to mind?

For many people, descriptors such as “dreary,” “discouraging,” “fear-based,” and “missed promises” apply to their organization's culture.

Today, people spend more time at work than with their best friends or family members. When the workplace is an inspiring, respectful, creative place to be, people engage deeply, serve customers effectively, and produce quality goods and services consistently.

The problem? Most leaders put greater thought into their organization's products and services than they do its culture. Yet culture is the engine—it drives everything that happens in an organization each day.

Leaders don't want a dreary or frustrating organizational culture, but most don't know what to do about it. They've seen inspiring workplaces but have never been taught how to create or maintain one.

Of course, understanding the need for a safe, inspiring culture is one thing. Creating and managing a productive, engaging culture is another thing entirely.

How does a leader go about creating something that, on one hand, is so important, but, on the other hand, seems so amorphous?

It can be done through the creation of an organizational constitution.

An organizational constitution is a formal document that states the company's guiding principles and behaviors. These liberating rules present the best thinking on how the organization ...