Culture is the Legacy of Leaders

An interesting Fast Company article poses a quick test on how to foster a culture of success at your organization.

(I've noted specific page references* from Six Disciplines for Excellence that are related to this exercise.)

Consider the team/group/organization you're leading:

1. Look at your vision/mission statement and jot down the behaviors that everyone supposedly follows. (*Discipline I-A Renew Mission, page 64; Disciplines I-D Renew Vision, page 77)
2. On a second list jot down the behaviors that everyone actually follows.
3. Pick the one discrepancy that annoys you the most.
4. Make it a top priority to change it. (Discipline III-A Identify Misalignments, page 120)
5. Have a conversation with colleagues on why each of you think the discrepancy exists. (Discipline III-F Align People - page 147)
6. Agree on some structures to put in place to ensure that change happens (communication, processes, rewards etc). (Discipline III - Align Systems, page 120)