Authenticity is the First Step to a Strong Culture

The first step to creating the right company culture is leading in an authentic manner. Be honest with yourself and your team about who you are as a company.

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“A great place to work” means different things to different people. Authenticity is about being transparent with your team about what matters most to your business, so they can make decisions based on the same criteria as you would. No company can fake being a “great place to work” for very long. You can say it on your website or job seeker ads. You can put up posters about it.  But your turnover rates, morale, communication and employee reviews show the real answer.

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Bottom line: be genuine to who you are - it is the most sustainable thing.

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Examples of Authentic Leadership in Action

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Your employees know what to expect from you and what you expect from them. Once they start their job, they find the reality of how your company operates matches expectations. Your team members make the same decisions you would, because they understand what is important to the company.

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Starter Questions

As you assess your company culture, start by asking questions about your authenticity.

• If it is a choice between “right” and “on-time,” what would your team do?  Is that what you would want done?
• Is it more important to finish a job on-time, to keep a customer happy, or to make sure a worker sees his kid’s school play?
• When team members provide feedback, how is it treated? If an incredible new applicant asked about that point, would you have said something different?
• If a customer is not happy and a worker could spend more company money/time to solve it, what would they do? What should they do?

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