Does every staff member who reports to you clearly know your mission statement? When you consider most people who work in our centers are here because they have a passion for our work, it can be easy to let proactive team culture building take a backseat to our day-to-day tasks that demand our attention. When you find yourself struggling to find or keep staff, or even unsure of whether you have teammates who are in it for the long haul, the best thing you can do is remind yourself that culture never accidentally happens. Being proactive in fostering and taking control of your team culture can be done in four simple steps:
1. Always Use Examples of Your Mission
One of the greatest things about working in our environment is people are being impacted in a positive way every day. Often, these testimonials are so much deeper than simply losing some weight or gaining some muscle. Elderly people can safely go out on their own again, a mother with back pain is able to carry her kids again or a member suffering with debilitating arthritis is able to cook again. These moments mean the world to your members and are great ways to remind your team what they do on a daily basis has massive impact.
Actionable Steps: Hold mission-focused highlights in each team meeting to foster a culture of celebrating the results our work has on our community. Encourage your team to provide examples ahead of each meeting to keep them focused on seeking how our members lives are being changed.
2. Open Up to Your Team
In leadership, most people need to see vulnerability displayed before they feel comfortable opening up. Think about it, when someone asks you how you’re doing, isn’t your response usually: “good?” Not that we should spill our troubles to everyone, but those who you feel safe with would be more likely to get a real answer.
Actionable Steps: When you’re holding one-on-one meetings with your team members, spend some time on the front end of the meeting seeing how they are doing personally, and if you notice they aren’t being open with you, be open with them. Don’t be afraid to discuss some of the complexities you’re dealing with in your job: difficulty juggling parenting, work, extracurricular activities, etc. The key here is to be careful not to share confidential information about other employees or company information. Use discretion in how and when you share.
3. Provide Professional Development and Growth Opportunities
In a non-profit setting, many staff members are motivated by much more than just a pay raise. The best way you can foster a growth trajectory mindset within your staff is to consider what their long-term goals are and help them set actionable steps on how to get there. Remember, staff members usually leave their leaders, not their jobs. Your team will willingly follow you if they believe you’re truly invested in developing them.
Actionable Steps: Development will look different for every employee. Take a personalized approach to your development by finding more about your team’s five-year goals and getting them connected with mentors, cross-training opportunities, seminars and programs that can help them take the next steps in their career effectively.
4. Create a Positive Work Environment with Recognition
A positive work culture is built on appreciation and recognition. The key to successful recognition is being intentional about how you go about it. It’s so much more than celebrating birthdays, milestones or hitting goals. It’s about positively reinforcing the actions you want to consistently see within your staff.
Actionable Steps: When you see a team member handle a situation well, tell them right away what you appreciated about how they handled it and be as specific as possible. Another great way to use this tactic at a larger scale is to highlight this team member in your next team meeting connecting the action to one of your core values. For example: “Mandy exemplified our core value ‘caring’ when she spent 10 extra minutes helping Mrs. Jones, an elderly member, out to her car in the ice and snow. Mandy, you’re giving a great example of what it means to live our core values!”
When you think about how important culture is, remember all the things we discussed today can easily get pushed aside or replaced by more urgent tasks. Building culture is not easy, but it can be simple when it’s done intentionally, systematically and thoughtfully. Be the leader you would want to follow, and your team will have no problem following you.
