Company culture is the unsung hero of a successful business. Your team is the backbone of every impactful strategy, campaign and sale—they’re the ones that propel your brand forward.
And yet, prioritizing positive company culture that fosters connection, builds employee relationships and strengthens your team often gets pushed to the backburner.
If you’re seeking to improve your company culture this year and beyond, here are five little-known things that kill company culture (and how you can easily fix them).
Tedious Micromanaging
If you’ve ever been micromanaged, you know the unnecessary stress, pressure and frustration that comes along with it. When you micromanage your team, it can make them feel as though you don’t trust them to do their jobs.
This lack of trust and faith in their skills can crush your company culture. It also limits their opportunities for growth, as they won’t be able to learn from mistakes and move forward with confidence.
Not to mention, when you’re busy micromanaging your employees, you’re unable to focus on core business initiatives and do your job effectively.
How to fix micromanaging: Empower your employees by letting them do their jobs. Letting go of control, embracing delegation and trusting that you’ve hired the right people is liberating. When your team is competent, organized and committed, you open doors that elevate your leadership and ability to drive strategy.
Lack of Clarity
Are you having important conversations with your team members? Does your company prioritize effective internal communication? Do your employees have clear roles and tasks? Is there a shared vision and goals throughout your organization?
These questions all play a vital role in creating clarity throughout the workplace and within your organization. When meaningful conversations happen and your team feels clear on their roles, action items and goals, a beautiful thing happens—teams complete projects on time, employees feel empowered and your operation runs like a well-oiled machine.
How to fix a lack of clarity: Prioritize communication, define your individual and collective goals to ensure you’re all on the same path, get clear on your employees’ roles and responsibilities and stop avoiding important conversations.
As one of the Giant Voices leadership members exclaimed on a recent weekly team huddle, “Stop typing, pick up the damn phone and have a real conversation!” Talk to one another, rather than relying on email or instant messaging conversations, where things can often get lost in translation.
Big Egos
Big egos are often at the root of a toxic workplace and a business lacking company culture. Leaders with big egos are typically afraid to be wrong, defend their mistakes rather than learn from them, refuse to listen to others and regularly seek recognition or validation.
They have an over-inflated sense of self-importance and ultimately destroy company culture. The teams they lead don’t strive for innovation, because they know it will get stifled. Instead, they simply do what they’re told and don’t stray far from the status quo.
How to fix a big ego: Embrace humility, vulnerability, open-mindedness, constructive criticism and the ability to make mistakes. This helps foster sustainable success, informed decision-making, a creative environment and a culture of collaboration.
Additionally, utilize Radical Candor®—say what you mean and challenge your team while also caring about the person to whom you’re speaking. This doesn’t mean you have to be brutally honest; it means you are kind, clear, specific and sincere. Tell someone they use “um” too much, or use filler words unnecessarily, it helps them become a stronger and more confident person.
Value Misalignment
The misalignment of personal and company values can result in a lack of engagement, investment, productivity and growth. Without a shared sense of purpose or commitment to your organization’s vision and goals, your team members may feel disconnected and unmotivated.
How to fix value misalignment: Define (and uphold) your company’s core values, hire candidates not only for their skills but also their cultural fit, provide ongoing training and development, lead by example and recognize and reward team members who exemplify your company’s values in their work.
Additionally, when you choose to define your values and adhere to them as a company, you may find some current team members don’t get on board. They may even self-select out—and that’s okay. You want employees who are engaged and align with your company’s values and vision.
Failing to Seek (or Use) Employee Feedback
Actively listening to your employees and making them feel heard and valued is an important part of building company culture.
If you don’t seek employee feedback or continuously ignore it, this can result in lower morale, lack of trust, decreased engagement and productivity, stifled creativity, employee burnout and increased turnover.
How to fix ignoring employee feedback: Ask your team what they think and how they feel, and do it regularly. You should know if they’re comfortable with their workload and if they have any feedback regarding organizational operations.
You could send an anonymous survey or have casual conversations—do what works best for your company culture. Ensuring your team members feel listened to and respected will help cultivate a positive work environment where creativity, trust, morale and motivation can thrive.
Company Culture is Powerful
Cultivating a positive company culture is not just a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity for driving success and growth. By addressing and rectifying these five common culture killers, you can create a work environment where employees feel valued, engaged and motivated.
Remember, your team is the backbone of your business. Invest in them, listen to them and watch your company thrive.
If you need help optimizing your company culture, chat with the Giant Voices team. We’ve helped numerous clients implement strong, impactful culture strategies that result in meaningful ROI.
