Culture.
Culture is something that often gets overlooked when it comes to discussing society, humanity, and the way people interact. But it is culture that can make the biggest impact on the world around you. By culture what I am talking about is what behaviors are encouraged by the group and especially the leadership of a group, as well as what behaviors are discouraged by the group, especially leaders of the group.
What values are promoted and what values are denigrated?
There are macro and micro cultures. For example the United States has a culture so does Germany and so on and so forth, though they’re all part of a larger “Western” or “modernist” culture. Likewise certain religious groups such as the “Amish” in the United States have a group culture that is separate from the dominant culture of their land.
What I’m talking about today is the culture that you have control over, the culture that you can affect in your day to day life. For most of us this can be a few different places.
The primary ones being the following
- Our family
- Our community
- Our place of work
- Any classes we teach or are part of
- Our family
Those are the ones that we have some level of control over and that we can affect.
Leadership & Culture
Many people complain about their workplace having a toxic culture. This can mean many different things. Abusive bosses, too much backbiting and politicking, long untenable hours, and a whole lot of others things. But bad culture generally all stems from the same pace. Poor leadership. Either poor in leadership skills or in moral fiber.
Leaders determine and enforce the culture, not so much by the words they say or the plaques they put on the wall but rather the actions that they take and the behaviors that are rewarded, either with monetary rewards, praise, or status. Leaders determine culture. Now you may not have an official title at your job, church, gym, or other places you visit.
But that does not mean that you do not have leadership influence. There is soft leadership and hard leadership with soft leadership being the far superior of the two. Soft leadership is what we call influence and hard leadership is title. One is given to you by others around you while the other is given from “on high”. And influence is far more powerful than titles, mandates, and the like.
So don’t think because you’re not the CEO of your company, or even a manger that you are exempt from affecting culture. Likewise just because you’re not the pastor of your church, a coach at your gym, or anything else…you still have influence, you still have leadership, and culture of your community and those around you are going to stem from you.
Creating A Culture Of Value
So the first thing to get clear on when wanting to have a healthy good culture around you is exactly what traits a healthy and good culture would promote. Write them out, really dig deep with them. Start with yourself and your ‘why’. Why do you get up each morning and keep trucking on. What is it you want to see from the world? What is it you want to accomplish and do? What change do you want to see in the world that keeps you going day to day?
Because those things are also going to influence the type of culture that you’ll want to build and promote to those around you. Once you’re clear on the values then it’s time to take action. Primarily there are three things that you can do. First and foremost strive to be a exemplar of the culture that you want to create. Leading by example is an important first step that cannot be skipped.
Next, encourage good and positive traits and behaviors, actions, that you see around you. Call them out. You can’t be silent, you have to show what you feel and believe. Likewise point out negative traits and behaviors and state them for what they are. You have to be honest here to create a true culture, which requires two things.
Strength and vulnerability.
Strength to stand by your convictions and vulnerability to let those convictions be known to others. This doesn’t mean that you’re obnoxious about enforcement. You do it while showing the truth of what you believe and caring for others. Those that are part of your culture are part of your team and therefore those that you should take care of.
Those three things are the fundamentals of affecting the culture around you. It takes strength, it takes vulnerability, and it takes leadership. Listen to others as well. Get their input. Be open minded, while retaining your core beliefs.
Cultural Change
You may never change the culture of your country or the world, but you can change the culture of the things that actually matter. Your family, your home, your gym, your church, your place of work, your community. Those are the things that will impact your life and the things that can change the world around you.
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Thank you for reading.
-Charles Sledge
