Every organization has a culture. But what is culture? And, why does it matter?

According to BusinessDictionary.com, culture is defined, as: Broadly, social heritage of a group (organized community or society). It is a pattern of responses discovered, developed, or invented during the group’s history of handling problems which arise from interactions among its members, and between them and their environment. These responses are considered the correct way to perceive, feel, think, and act, and are passed on to the new members through immersion and teaching. Culture determines what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable. It encompasses all learned and shared, explicit or tacit, assumptions, beliefs, knowledge, norms, and values, as well as attitudes, behavior, dress, and language.

The question is whether that culture is intentional or accidental in how it shapes a brand and supports individual and team performance.

Research shows that positivity and care are directly correlated with the sustained high performance of people.

Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Advantage, suggests that a healthy organizational [culture] trumps everything else in business. His formula for a healthy culture comes down to how behaviorally and psychologically aligned the leaders, and subsequently the rest of the team, are.

As a leader are you creating a positive and caring culture that is conducive to sustained high performance or allowing behaviors and attitudes that breed a negative culture that detracts from performance?

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.