Culture is everything! As a leader we are cultivators of culture. I know everyone has a culture but is it the one you want? Is it one that you can make sense of? If not, how can you define it? Culture is generated by the people and it surrounds us whether you like it or not. What kind of a culture do you want as a leader in your work, your home, your mind, your lifestyle, your friends? How do you cultivate that?
By cultivating, I mean you are in the trenches, sleeves rolled up, wiping the sweat off of your face. I am passionate about the people who create the culture around me and so I need to be visible and with them, supporting and learning from them at all times.
Guys, I get it. This is hard work! It is so hard! But it matters so much. If the culture is there, people will do the best work of their lives. By people, I mean adults and kids because they will feel motivated, have momentum, feel supported, trust has been built, and they are valued the most. They will feel energized because the culture is generating energy through the people. The people are everything.
I know what you are thinking. This is all great but it where do I start? I have been digging deep into this question for years, as a mother, a leader in a school, a leader as a teacher, as a coach, as the oldest in my family, and as a daughter. Trust me, I have driven people nuts by asking questions, inviting myself into their classes and minds, reflecting and asking my own kids questions about our culture!
I have come to these three questions over and over again. It has led me to my next step each time. It has helped me define my vision and has provided the clarity that I had been searching for all along. The three questions are:
Do you have a community and what do you want it to be known for?
Who is your audience?
How will you provide value to the people?
Searching for the answers to generating a thriving culture has always led me back to the people behind the brand.
Do you have a community and what do you want it to be known for? As I consider this first question, I think about what type of a community that you want to surround you. It is so important that you focus on who your community is and the vision that you want to cast to them as a collective whole. If you feel that your community isn’t really there yet, this is your opportunity to build one. There has never been a time like now. What is your vision and how are you casting it as a leader in your work, your home, your classroom, your team? Do they know what your vision is? I know this is tough work but it really is how you cast it and then how you live it every single day.
The next question that I considered is who is your audience? It is critical that you focus on your people that you want to serve. If you put the value in the people, you will never go wrong.
Start by looking for these four things:
- Common characteristics, especially ongoing problems or concerns.
- Habits that people want to develop on an ongoing basis that will fulfill them personally and professionally.
- Skills that people want to master over time.
- Places where people are already gathering around.
Bottom Line: It starts with the people you want to serve. If they are looking to solve an on-going problem, develop new habits, or master a skill, that is the space where your culture pollinates. This is where your indicators and pockets are to grow your culture.
The last question that kept resurfacing over and over again in my research and experience with culture was, how will you provide value to the people? This is everything! They need to know that you are doing the best work of your life to serve them and bring them the information and learning that they need.
As a leader, think about how you will produce content that provides value to their needs. There is probably so much of what you are already doing that just needs to be reframed and restructured. Double down on the content that you provide to them during any time that you meet. Look at the lens you are working through to deliver, scaffold, and maintain content. Streamline your schedule to provide time and set expectations to always provide evidence of the learning that happened so others can learn from the residue of that learning. You don’t necessarily have to always be the one providing value to the content and learning. Tap into your experts and teacher leaders to build capacity and keep the momentum going and growing.
Always go beyond what is expected and people will follow and believe in the culture you are casting guaranteed. I promise. And then…they will start to follow your lead and do their best work because that is the culture that you have cultivated together. Next, your leaders will emerge.
Now, you can say “yeah but that is too much work.” Well, my friend, then your culture will never change. The second I loosened my grip on my passion for serving, was the second the culture started to spiral in my home, my work, and my own personal wellness.
We have many flurries of culture and I have found that all of them have the same vision; To be happy, to be energized, to serve, to collaborate and to do the best work of our lives in work, mind, body, relationships, and home.
How will you know if your culture needs renewal? Well go back to those three questions. Start by looking at your people. Is there ongoing problems that you can help solve, skills they can master, habits you can help them develop, or ways you can make life more convenient for them?
Next, Look at your community. Build your audience and your following through modelling and walking the walk alongside them. Everything that you bring to the table, you must do as well. Model pedagogy, assessment for learning strategies, leadership, healthy habits, etc.
Look at your content and value. You want to be sure you can provide content for your community that provides value to them. Don’t get overwhelmed by the task, a little goes a long way!
I know there are probably some sneaky thoughts that creep into your head like they do mine. It is that overwhelming idea that perhaps this whole culture thing doesn’t exist and where do I even start. Well, I have researched and spent time in that space too. Here are a few things that I found out along the way:
Step 1: Find the problem or problems. What are the gaps or the bumps in the road?
A little bit of research goes a long way. Without this knowledge it is going to be difficult. How do you find problems? You sit with the people wherever they gather, talk to them, listen. Pay attention to the questions people are asking. Where are they getting stuck? What are they getting hung up on? Those are the 5-10 problems that you probably want to identify.
Step 2: Start serving the people (family, husband, kids, yourself, colleagues, etc)
When leading a school, the more specific you are with who you serve and how you help, the easier it is for people to find clarity in the vision and to start to believe in it. The best way to start building clarity and trust is to start serving in that space of uncertainty. Start showing up. Start helping people. Once you have identified the problems, now is your opportunity to start to get in there and help to provide support. You can help by giving your own advice, learning alongside, or steering them towards advice of others.
Step 3: Cast the Vision. What do you see your community and culture becoming? Cast the vision for your audience. When you cast the vision, the key thing here, is that you’ve got to realize that it is not about you. Casting a vision is all about your audience. How will a member of your community’s life be better or different as a result of being a part of this culture? How will this investment in culture serve them? If you can answer that specifically, you are going to have a great time when it comes to actually casting that vision. You will also have the support of the people because they see that you also believe and are passionate about the vision you are casting.
Step 4: Make your vision easy to identify with. The fourth thing to remember is important because if makes your vision relational. Ask yourself, could this vision create an identity for each individual as well as the community as a whole? How can I make them feel a part of it? If your members can identify with your vision, they not only participate proudly, but they will start to lead and help create the very identity that keeps them calibrated with the culture and build momentum.
Step 5: The most important one! BEGIN
The best thing that you can do is begin. Begin, build trust by earning it, and establish your authority. Acknowledge that you are learning alongside. Get in the trenches, roll up your sleeves and do exactly what you are asking them to do. Tell stories because that is what engages people. However, in order to tell stories of success and learning you have to produce them. Well, in order to produce them you have to be there doing the work. And then…tell story after story. Get your community to start telling stories and sharing the learning and see what happens.
I know these questions have worked for us because our school lives these questions every single day and I am so proud to say that all of our teachers, support staff, leaders, teacher leaders, students, parents are doing the best work of our lives and continuing to build momentum because of our culture and the people behind our brand.
And yes, of course there are bumps along the way, every single day. But we have a culture now that we have worked very hard to be able to pivot according to whatever comes our way. We pivot more and wallow less. We figure it out no matter what and that makes it a forward moving exciting place to be each day. I try to find and build this culture in all areas of my life and it is the best work of my life.
If the people are happy everything else will rise. Find clarity and then get to work!
Now I am throwing this out there. I am casting a vision if you will! I am thinking about putting together a course of my exact pathway to cultivating a super school through a wellness infused culture. I am also thinking about building a community membership group in which we can all connect, support and help each other within leadership. If you are interested, I would love for you to DM me at evenifyoumiss1 or email me at jacealynh@gmail.com.
The reason for this, I am gauging interest and I will creating the course and the community according to interest and your needs so that I can tailor it directly to you in order for you to build your own culture. Now the culture doesn’t have to be in a school, it can be in your family, a different type of business, or your mindset and wellness. It all depends on my community, the people and the value they are looking for. I look forward to hearing from you!
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