Often at our internal meetings with team members, we use the phrases like;
“That’s the culture we want to build.”, “This is against our thought process as a company.”
When I worked with Microsoft, the word culture came across in all leadership talks. That’s what the company spoke about every time. And as I started working in startups I could really see how one startup was different from the other. How decision-making, hiring, handling conflict, disappointment, etc. drastically change from startup to startup.
This made me wonder, how do we make sure to build the right culture? How do we scale? There are plenty of guidelines, case studies, and thought models to build the right culture. But I pondered over the thought of, how to get that on the floor? The one answer I kept hearing was “Live by it, People learn from leadership”.
Yes! It works, and it works organically. We repeat the values every time, everywhere we have an opportunity. Yes, it does have an impact. But, is it enough?
I was traveling to India a few months ago and I met a gentleman, Akhil Krishnan who was working with the Hilton hotels in Bangalore. I was at the breakfast buffet and it was during the initial Covid days. I knew how tiring it can be for someone responsible to manage the Covid regulation aspects, making sure customers are evenly placed and of course having a great time.
I was amazed by his patience and commitment to what he was doing. His conversation style was incredible and convincing, despite the challenging situation.
I had a similar experience at the reception with Kashish Vyas. She was extremely professional in handling the confusion I had with the billing. You might consider them to be common experiences. But, let me tell you, keeping that level of commitment and sticking to the culture of the company, and delivering is not as easy.
That’s when I realized, we need people across the organization who will carry the culture on their sleeve. They are the ones that stand up for the culture, possess and drive conviction in their actions – They are “The Culture Heroes”.
We brought this insight to Adtech and employed it to our organizational upskilling at all levels, from C-Level to Interns. We identified Culture Heroes internally and also hired people whom we believed could be one. We experimented with new communication strategies in the one-on-ones with the aspect of culture you like to live by and grow.
This conscious effort unfolded very interesting conversations. The new product development team we built ground up carried this flair and ran miles with it. It was awesome to see how the simple thought of building your cultural heroes would let the culture of the company prosper with flying colours.
Identify –> Upskill –> Set Them Up for Success –> Reward –> Repeat
It is the thought model we followed for our Culture Heroes. We are proud of them. The whole organization looks up to their traits and takes pride in their actions.
Great Culture makes Great People. Great People make Great Culture. Culture Heroes are your early adopters.
🙂 A big hurray to all the cultural heroes out there.
