Developing a Team-First Strategy to Tune Up Your Workplace Culture May 16, 2022 by Belinda EganFor May, we’re looking at the ins and outs of workplace culture and leadership strategy post-COVID-19 pandemic. This topic comes up often during coaching sessions with my clients. Aspiring leaders and those currently leading recognize that so much about the workplace has evolved since March 2020 (when the mass majority of offices went remote), and leaders need to adjust their strategy to compensate for a massive culture shift. Priorities have shifted, work-life balance has shifted, and the culture within most workplaces is massively different from before the pandemic – some changes for the better, and some that could spell major trouble within organizations. In the first article of this Culture + Leadership Strategy series, I shared with you how you can positively affect your current workplace culture as a leader by stepping into your power and identifying issues, modeling healthy workplace culture behaviors, and talking to your frontline team members about their experience with the culture. This article delves into developing a solid team-focused leadership strategy with a healthy workplace culture in mind. The first thing to acknowledge about any strategy is that if you don’t have a measuring stick to compare efforts and results, it’s all useless. Without measuring outcomes, there’s no point in developing new leadership strategies It’s best to work backward when developing new leadership strategies based on intended changes to workplace culture. For instance, what specific areas of your workplace culture are you aiming to improve? How long do you think it will realistically take to see changes take effect? And what indicators of change will you look for? Ultimately, your organization wants a positive culture change + new leadership strategy to result in tangible business outcomes, so you’ll need to consult with your leadership team to figure out what KPIs you’ll be tracking. Once you’ve answered these questions, you can begin to develop a leadership strategy for your team. Connect as many teams and individuals as possible to each other to increase the odds of a successful leadership strategy Improvement can’t happen in a vacuum, and it certainly can’t be quantified. When many people join in an organizational effort to acknowledge changes that need to be made, they’re more likely to get on the same page to make it happen. As a leader, you have access to many people in your organization – and you have the opportunity to connect them and get them talking to you and each other about culture. Doing this is productive in two ways: You have a wider frame of reference for changes that need to occur within the organization. You grow your network of collaborators, brainstormers, and changemakers. This leads to my next point – you shouldn’t be the one leading the charge on culture shifts within your organization. You can make it much easier on yourself by activating the power of a group effort! Empower your team members to be agents of change Traditional leadership strategies place the burden of change on the leader herself – and while this might have some impact, it’s not the most efficient or team-focused approach to leadership strategy. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know by now that I believe in the transformational power of the honest, transparent conversation with your teams. I believe in talking openly about opportunities for improvement and the struggles that both leaders and team members experience in their daily work lives. We’re here to share this human experience and learn from each other, regardless of our titles. In the same way, I believe that the most transformational leadership strategy you can put in place to lean into a massive culture shift at work is this: empower your team members to be the change they want to see at work. On the surface, this might sound trite. But in action, this is truly a game-changer. Here are some practical steps to set the stage for empowered team members who help you to bring real change to your workplace culture: Ask your team members to share what they believe a healthy workplace culture looks like vs. the current state of things at work. Ask your team members to share their recommendations for making changes to the culture. Write down their observations and recommendations to develop a Progress Report, and track changes in terms of tangible KPIs for business outcomes. Hold a brainstorming session with your team focused on ways they can “be the change” they want to see at work. You don’t need to have all the answers. Your team members hold pieces of the puzzle that you need to see, and as a team, you can make big waves and create lasting change in your workplace culture. Lean on your team to help you get there! Next time, I’ll be sharing some of the creative, unique, and effective ways powerful women in leadership have stepped up to the challenge of cultural issues in their workplaces over the past two years. I hope you’ll be inspired to do the same – and you can start today! If you’re ready to be brave, practice using your voice, and build your own table from which to sit and strategize a compassionate and courageous leadership trajectory, consider joining us in the Courageous Leadership program, launching its next iteration in June 2022. This program is the only one of its kind tailored specifically for both aspiring and current women in leadership to step into their power and lead the charge in this new world of work. Learn more about Courageous Leadership here. On your team, Belinda Egan, M.A. Strategic Leadership PS. Join my newsletter for weekly updates, tips, and thought leadership! Sign Up!