Intentional Leadership; Intentional Workplace Culture

Building a vibrant, productive workplace culture isn't something that happens by accident; it requires deliberate and consistent effort – in short, intentionality. This intentional approach, driven primarily by leadership, is the crucial difference between a company culture that struggles and one that truly thrives. It's not just a nice-to-have; it's a core responsibility of leaders and entrepreneurs.

Today, a healthy workplace culture is more important than ever to employees. Graduates entering the workforce rank a healthy workplace culture as a "very important" attribute in potential employers, right after job stability. Members of the LGBTQ+ community, despite significant progress, still report challenges in the workplace, highlighting the need for companies that actively pursue an inclusive and accepting culture. Newsweek's ranking of America's Greatest Workplaces for LGBTQ+ recognizes companies that are putting their best foot forward in creating positive workplace culture and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. This demonstrates that valuing all employees and ensuring they feel respected and appreciated is a hallmark of a great workplace.

So, what does intentional leadership look like in practice when it comes to culture?

First and foremost, it involves acknowledging that culture isn't just something you have; it's something you create with intention. Leaders must consider the stories at the heart of their organization's culture, specifically focusing on why they do what they do. Developing a clear sense of purpose and empowering employees to live it are key steps. Intentional leaders also understand that a company's greatest asset is its people. Mentorship and guidance, within an intentionally built culture, can help employees grow not just in skills, but in confidence, leadership, and vision.

The Sum of Some of the Parts

Some of the Parts

Part 1: Intentional leadership also involves building trust and psychological safety. Psychological safety is crucial to encourage honest feedback, especially about difficult topics like cultural toxicity. Leaders need to create a space where everyone feels heard and valued and can share concerns without fear of judgment. Fostering strong social connections among colleagues is a powerful antidote to stress and helps build bonds that buffer workplace challenges.

Part 2: Monitoring and improving culture is an ongoing process, not merely a reaction when something goes wrong. While culture audits can be a valuable tool to identify and address issues, they shouldn't be one-off interventions or treated as a "post-mortem". Transparency and trust are key during any review. Senior leadership must be actively involved and show a genuine commitment to listening and responding to feedback derived from audits or other sources. This demonstrates to employees that their opinions are valued and that change is a priority. Supplementing formal surveys with insights from exit interviews, grievance reports, and data on turnover or absenteeism can also help identify underlying issues.

Part 3: Investing in leadership skills and HR is also recommended for improving working conditions and culture. Specifically, leadership training on mindfulness, stress management, and employee support equips managers to identify signs of burnout, lead with empathy, and foster a positive work environment. Holding leaders accountable for team well-being helps weave these principles into the organization's fabric. Prioritizing well-being isn't just the right thing to do; it's good business, leading to greater employee engagement and a boost in productivity. Stress contributes significantly to lower employee engagement, higher turnover, and stifled innovation, while only a minority of organizations highly prioritize mental wellness.

Sum of Some :

The prior paragraphs are not ALL of what needs to happen to create a positive and productive workplace culture. As a leader who has done exactly this, I can assure you it is not as easy as a slick program launch. When culture needs to be corrected, the change will be every bit as suspect as the prior poor culture. This is because employees will see the change and after having been treated poorly, they will not have the trust that the change is for their benefit. In fact, they will likely see it as leveraging them in some capacity.

Taking time to start the change and earnestly listen to feedback is critical. If the workplace culture has been toxic for a decade, literally nothing will make it great overnight. The only path forward is intentional continuous improvement of the skills and abilities of all employees focusing on the people-skills of leaders.

Intentional leadership requires, at minimum, a reframing of workplace culture. It is critical to implement change that demonstrates how culture is an active creation, prioritizing the well-being and value of people, building trust and psychological safety, committing to ongoing feedback and improvement, and leading with purpose and empathy. This isn't the easy path, but it is the one that leads to resilient teams, extraordinary results, and a workplace where employees truly thrive.