Your culture isn’t a unicorn. It’s a donkey.
Photo by Inês Pimentel on Unsplash
Busting the myths that get in the way of building great company cultures
Who doesn’t love a unicorn?
Rare, magical, majestic, unarguably fabulous. Bestowed with mystical powers and an infinity of sparklyness. All excellent ingredients for a mythical beast. All terrible ingredients for a culture. Which makes it odd that so many leaders treat their cultures like unicorns.
Those leaders see culture as a nebulous, magic embodiment of undefined things that make us special. Undeniably important, but something not to be captured in case it loses its magic.
The best cultures, however, don’t beam from rainbows. They work hard. They are real, they are useful and they celebrate what’s common. The best cultures aren’t unicorns at all, they’re donkeys.
It is real
For your culture to be powerful, first it needs to be real. Defined. Visible. Written. True.
I’ve heard too many leaders defend their undefined culture with claims that if it’s captured it will somehow lose its magic. Like if you had to go find a live unicorn as evidence, you’d only succeed in proving they don’t actually exist.
Perhaps defining what your culture consists of can be tricky. It does ask you to take a good look inside, and that can be unsettling. But what really holds people back from committing their culture to paper is that when we make things real, we can be held accountable for them. And when leaders don’t believe in their ability to show up to what they write, it’s more convenient to avoid writing it in the first place.
In truth, capturing your culture is what gives it the magic. Because then you can share it. It can be consistent. It can be measured. And because then you must show up to it. So if you can’t write down your purpose and your values, your culture is indeed a unicorn — more alive in your imagination than in your company.
Find the truth — focus on what’s real
Write it down — commit it to paper
Show up to it — make it real for you
It works hard
Great cultures are donkeys because they get put to work.
They live in the core behaviours and processes of a company, not just on ‘About Us’ pages and coffee mugs. The sign of a great culture is that it deals with how we do the work itself, not just the environment in which to do it.
Companies that take the unicorn approach to culture might have the the beanbags and the free breakfasts. They probably go out for drinks on a Friday night, under the guise of team-building (and then fail miserably to work as a team in the day). Like unicorns, these cultures aren’t exactly rolling up their capes and getting their hooves dirty.
Living your culture is hard work in the sense that it needs a stubborn dedication to the cause. The beauty is that when we work hard for culture, it works harder for us.
Define the behaviours — make it about doing things not just believing them
Shape the way you work — use your values to design your processes
Use it everyday — make a habit of it
It is common
A great culture is based on what we share, not what makes us different.
Yes, culture can set a company apart in its marketplace, but the root of that uniqueness is authenticity, not differentiation. The unicorn approach is to design something eye-catching in the hope that people will be attracted to its dazzling aura. The reality is that the bright light just attract moths - people who are there for the show not the cause - and who will inevitably gnaw away at the fabric of your culture rather than adding colour to it.
The donkey approach is to humbly accept what is common across your company. The behaviours that make you who are and define your collective approach when you’re operating at your best. When you do that, you create a place that brings together people of all colours, shapes, backgrounds, magical powers. When you seek what’s common, you recognise that the culture is not the hero, the people who make it are. And just because you’re humble with your culture doesn’t mean you can’t be fiercely proud of it.
Find what is common — focus on what’s shared
Be yourself— focus on being your best, not being different to others
Celebrate — make something you’re proud of
The myths that inform this blog come from a series of conversations Within is having with leaders around the world about how culture drives growth. Read the first findings, and if you’d like to be a part of the conversation, please get in touch.