“Culture is the tacit agreement to let the means of subsistence disappear behind the purpose of existence.” — Karl Kraus
As I mentioned in my last blog, every culture seems to fit into one of five categories, which I’ve characterized as Levels 1 to 5. Since we’ve talked about the first three in earlier blogs, now it’s time to highlight the best levels of work cultures:
Level 4—The “Coalition of the Willing” culture: The coalition culture has a large population of team members who want the organization to be successful and who align their personal goals and aspirations with the company’s. This environment is better than most.
Level 5—The “We’re All In” culture: Level 5 is a culture of excellence characterized by fully committed team members who see their personal success and fulfillment in achieving the organization’s goals and objectives. Everyone belongs and takes great pride in being the best.
Quite frankly, both cultures are healthy places to be. Many companies move from 4 to 5 and back again over time as people move in and out of the organization or new leaders emerge. As I mentioned in my last blog, the culture champions are the stewards of the ecosystem, the adaptive leaders who honor and protect it every day.
One of the key differentiators between the “Coalition” and “All In” cultures is the depth of commitment across the team. When you have buy-in at every level, you’ve arrived at Level 5. It is hard to get “in the zone,” and even harder to stay there, but well worth the investment… it is where great companies live.
I once knew a General Manager of a car dealership who always came to work and went home through the service bays. One day, as he was leaving, he passed by a junior technician cleaning up his service area, and he asked him how his day had gone. “It went well,” the team member replied. I made nine families’ lives safer today.” Does this sound like a Level 5 culture of excellence to you? It sure does to me. Let’s set our sights on aiming for that level.
Enjoy the journey!
This blog post is partially based on the book, “The Power of Being All In.” You can download the first chapter for free at this link. Or, if you’d like to purchase the entire book (available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook), it is available on Amazon.
