Business and organizational change are now exponential and if an organization tries to go forward by embracing the strategies of its past, then it is setting itself up for a rapid decline towards obsolesce and obscurity. Today’s successful companies don’t view “adaptability” as a ‘nice to have’ business strategy. For them, it is an essential element to business success, longevity, differentiation, and long-term prosperity. We all have to learn to change the way we change.
One such change is remote work. However, we have been hearing a lot in the news lately that companies are asking their people to go back to the office. Those are not just tech companies, this trend has spread to other industries as well. When Zoom joined this trend last month, it seemed to be the nail in the coffin for remote work. But is it, really?
Let’s explore this further. One of the reasons companies ask their people to return to the office is that they don’t know how to build culture remotely. Building culture is not an afterthought. It is not something you do after you’ve built a product or after you’ve reached your revenue goal, it is something you do at the same time as you build your teams.
Furthermore, building culture remotely is not the same as building it in the office. It has to be built on the foundation of trust and your employees feeling safe.
Here are 6 essential elements to build a strong culture:
Ownership: Empower your team. People thrive when they are given ownership.
Excellence: Strive to deliver excellence to your customers and go the extra mile. At the same time, be very intentional with investing in your teammates and being generous with your knowledge. You win together!
Autonomy: Trust your team. People are capable of so much more than you think!
Kindness: It goes a long way. It is especially important in a hyper-growth environment! Care and look out for each other. Your people should always be the #1 priority for you, not your product, not your revenue goal.
Celebration: Celebrate wins together – big and small! This can’t be emphasized enough how important it is.
Appreciation: Never underestimate the power of appreciation. When people feel appreciated, they will go the extra mile.
Building culture takes effort.
Building culture takes time.
Building culture takes dedication and commitment to the team and your customers.
But most of all, it starts with trust.
If you want to know how to manage a distributed workforce where your remote workers are motivated towards a common mission, that they feel a sense of belonging and they are productive, book a free call with me, and let’s discuss how I can help you.