Leaders set the culture trends
IF YOU head a business or are an entrepreneur, you will have your own leadership style and this will certainly affect the way your business is run. If you prefer a flexible work environment, employees would have the choice of flexible timings, can choose their own dress code and work on projects they like or feel are important. Some others may prefer a rigid working style where schedules and projects are predetermined and rules are to be followed. No working style is without its advantages and disadvantages but the ideal working style is one that reflects what you are and also works for your employees.
Generally the work environment is determined by the leadership style of the management and this determines the culture of the company, the business objectives and company goals. To establish this the leader has to do an analysis of his own values first and then communicate this to others in the organisation for them to follow.
To do this the leader has to follow certain strategies. Firstly he has to with the help of the management establish a corporate culture which includes the vision of the organisation and a belief or value system for the company. Ideally this should reflect the leader's aims for the company.
The leader should through example establish the rules and values he wants the employees to focus on. For instance if the head wants to focus on customer service or wants to expand the business he has to clearly specify that these are the goals of the company for the employees to adopt them. If there is ambiguity here then each employee will make up his own goals and this can be very different from the company vision and can even work at cross purposes.
This is important because if you as a leader want to see an increase in profits but your employees are not profit oriented then it can affect your bottom line. So the leader has to spell out the rules clearly and also rules to be followed so that the goals can be achieved.
Leaders set examples for the employees to follow so it is vital that he does his work efficiently and brings results so that the employees are inspired to do the same. On the contrary if the leader sets a bad example then the others will follow the same behaviour.
As a leader if you see any undesirable behaviour in your employees, it is important that you examine your own behaviour before correcting others.
Remember you will always set a precedent whether good or bad.
While acting as a role model, the leader should constantly reinforce the kind of culture he wants to establish. This can be done by using different modes of communication- the company newsletter, the intranet, the company website, orientation and through verbal or written communication at staff meetings.
It is not only the leader who has to act as a role model of the company values but also the different levels of management, team leaders and other senior staff have to set an example to the employees.
It is important that the leader takes the initiative in creating an ideal culture so that there is a vision to aspire for, goals to achieve and rules to follow.
The employees will naturally follow the leader and a culture can be created based on the value system dear to the leadership.
HEMA G
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