7 Tough Questions to Ask about Your Leadership Culture
I have supported many CEOs on enhancing their organisational cultures.
I have been told by many CEOs that they have invested heavily in leadership development and are still not seeing the results.
These CEOs were not happy with their leaders for some of the reasons I discuss below. There was something amiss. We uncovered there were two factors at play:
1. The CEOs had not clearly articulated their vision of the culture (and their expectations of leaders.)
2. The Leaders therefore created their own habits.
Here are seven questions that will help you determine whether your leadership culture needs a refresh:
1. Do your leaders empower and trust their staff or do they deploy the more directive style where what they say goes?
Tip: Have you articulated what management style will suit your culture? Are you aware of your Leader’s management styles? Did your Leadership development program contain a 360 assessment or a work style behavioural profiling tool? I can help.
2. Do your leaders actually get on with each other and work constructively with each other? (A diversity of leaders and a difference of opinions are needed, what I am asking here is do your leaders have a good working relationship with each other?)
Tip: Have you observed how your lead team meetings operate? Do your leaders bicker or are there genuine healthy disagreements that result in good outcomes for the organisation?
3. Do your leaders have the full picture, or are they working in their own patches? In silos?
Tip: If they’re working in a silo approach, have you asked them why this is? Have you sought to learn the underlying reason for this? Patch mentality happens for many reasons; insecurity, lack of knowledge, a need to maintain control and the list goes on. A culture survey or a quick culture audit / pulse check could be what you need to do to understand what is happening.
4. Are your leaders on the same page about the organisation’s strategic direction? Or do they have their own versions of it?
Tip: If you are the CEO, have you clearly articulated the strategic direction? Do you have clear communications? For HR professionals that work closely with the CEO, have you delivered a workshop or information sessions for your leaders (and employees) to understand the strategic direction and how their role fits into the big picture? When a leader or employee has a clear line of sight, not only does productivity increase, so does morale. Understanding your WHY as Simon Sinek espouses is crucial in the end result to your employees and the flow on effect to your customers.
5. Do your leaders share information freely or hold onto it with the mentality that knowledge is power?
Tip: Ask the 2IC to act in your leader’s role next time they are on leave. It is very telling when you see what kind of handover is conducted. I recommend they cc their handover to you, or even attend a handover meeting to see what is being shared. One of the biggest pain points and costs for organisations is poor knowledge management.
6. Do your leaders inspire their teams?
Tip: You will know the answer to this immediately. How is your organisation’s productivity? How is your turnover? What are your unplanned absence stats saying? Have you conducted a culture or engagement survey and done something about it? I have many clients who conduct such internal surveys then don’t know what to do when the results come out. I can help: guaranteed there will be celebrations, quick wins and more longer term measures.
7. Are your leaders emotionally intelligent? Do they have the capacity to be aware of, control, and express their emotions, and can they handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically?
Tip: Engage in a Coach or Trainer, conduct 360 assessments or a work style behavioural profiling tool. Contact me to see how I can help with your Coaching or Training needs.
Fun fact: A study by Deloitte states “More than 80% of the jobs created between now and 2030 will be for knowledge workers, and two-thirds of jobs will be strongly reliant on soft skills.” What are you doing to develop the soft skills of your leaders?
If you want a confidential chat or have some projects you need support on, get in touch. Email me at prina@prinashah.com
As a qualified Coach, Consultant and Trainer I help CEOs, HR Teams and Individuals as they seek to make positive culture change happen in themselves and in their organisations.
Here are some of the Culture / Engagement Surveys I have used: Human Synergistics OCI and OEI, Walking the Talk, AON, Insync, WA Public Sector Comission’s Employee Perception Survey AND I have created bespoke in-house surveys for a few clients. Why not own your people data??
If you answered no to some or more of the above, you need help. Remember that culture eats strategy for breakfast.
If you are a leader in need of some self reflection on your organisational culture, download my FREE Easy Culture Audit here: https://www.prinashah.com/culture-audit
Here’s to happy employees.
Prina Shah
