Without deliberate leadership, any culture will crumble. My dad, a football coach of over 40 years used to say (often), “The people who make a difference are those who say what they’re going to do and then they actually do it.” Truer words have never been uttered; teamwork doesn’t just happen because we mouth the words. Culture, especially within organizations or communities, is a deliberate construct. It requires time, watering, and effort to develop for an number of reasons.

Conscience

It’s the organizations conscience. Culture sets the tone for how members of an organization or community interact, make decisions, and approach their tasks. It governs what we say yes and what we say no to. Social contracts, where everyone has stake in the outcomes regulate the culture more than dogma ever could.

Patience

Patience is key to cultural establishment. Bill Walsh, the legendary football coach said, “Quick change happens slowly.” People on the outside who look at successful cultures often assume erroneously, that someone walked in with a good idea and simply snapped their fingers and everything fell into place.

Establishing a shared set of values, beliefs, and practices takes time. It involves repeated correct actions, open communication, and reinforcement to ensure everyone is in lock step as an organization.

Contribution

There is no substitution for contribution. For a culture to be truly embraced, it can’t just be a top-down directive. “Do this or I’ll be pissed,” might get a group of people to move for a short time, but it won’t relate to sustained effort.

Leadership is a 2-way street and so is culture. Everyone, from the highest ranking, to the newest members must buy into, and be active participants in the culture. A culture is eligible to transcend when people are more concerned about watching each others back than they are with watching their own.

Relevance

Culture needs to constantly be evaluated for relevance. Once established, culture can’t coast, riding on reputation and rotting on the vine. It needs to be

watered, bolstered, and occasionally recalibrated. This involves work; something that some are averse to, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” is another truism, however without regular maintenance, and challenges to conventional thinking, even the most stout cultures can be passed up by those who think differently. Regularly seek out new ideas to avoid staying in one place for too long.

Resilience

Maintaining a strong culture can help teams weather stormy times . As communities grow and evolve, they’ll face challenges, both internal and external, that threaten their culture. It takes work to address these challenges while maintaining or evolving the cultural core. Strong teams can endure tempests and actually emerge from them stronger, often discovering new contributors during tough times.

Empathy

Cultural empathy is its greatest strength. Especially in larger or diverse groups, people show up with their backgrounds, values, and beliefs. It’s the ability to meet people where they are that provides the foundation for thriving cultures. Creating a unified culture means finding common ground amidst this diversity, which requires effort and understanding. At the the core of all humans is a desire to contribute and be a part of something bigger than themselves. We are tribal beings. People often look back with some fondness on times of war or struggle because for that period of time they came together and helped one another, whether it was sharing what little food they had with others or simply watching each other’s back, they felt that they were better people.

Compromise

They compromise on issues without compromising on their principles A healthy culture is one that can evolve. People must see that their contributions matter and feel that they have some agency within the organization to stay motivated. Organizations must be willing to hear from their people and have mechanisms in place for feedback. The leaders in an organization must be honest self evaluators and be willing to make adjustments, even compromises when necessary.

Intentionality

Intentionality is deliberate leadership. Without a deliberate focus on culture, organizations run the risk developing a culture by default, which rarely aligns with their goals or values. Even the best people, when left to their own devices can become like water; seeking the lowest level when the wrong culture becomes rooted. This leads to issues with discipline, reduced morale, and overall decline of the organization.

Culture is the lifeblood of any organization or community. It influences how people feel about their work, how they interact with each other, and how they represent the organization to the outside world. Given its profound impact, it’s no surprise that building and maintaining a positive, effective culture requires intentional effort and attention. Cultures built on mutually agreed upon and adhered to expectations are the one that pass the battle test. They exist on trust. Nothing takes longer to build or is more valuable to culture. Without it, everything falls apart.