How Much Does Positive Culture Really Matter?

Have you heard that stress and pressure can push people to perform more, better, and faster? A large and growing body of research reveals a very different picture.

Not only is a cut-throat environment harmful to productivity over time, but a positive, collaborative culture leads to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, and the bottom line.

Our own research has long maintained that communication is the freeway to culture.
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Writing in The Harvard Business Review, Emma Seppala, of the Yale School of Management, and Kim Cameron, of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, agree. They suggest four pathways for leaders to create a more positive culture within their organization:

• Foster social connections: Caring for, being interested in, and maintaining personal relationships with colleagues produce extremely desirable results, including faster learning and better health. 
• Show empathy: Leaders who demonstrate compassion toward their employees foster individual and collective resilience in challenging times.
• Go out of your way to help: If you ever had a manager or mentor who took time and effort to help you when they did not have to, odds are you have remained loyal to that person to this day. Employees of self sacrificing leaders are more cooperative with their team.
• ​Encourage people to talk to you – especially about problems: Not surprisingly, trusting that your leader has your best interests at heart improves an employee’s performance. Feeling safe allows people to think creatively and innovate.

What have you done recently to instill a more positive culture in your workplace? To join the conversation, click "comments" below.

Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.

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