Building a thriving culture, whether within a single organization or on a larger societal level, requires time, patience, and serious dedication. A healthy culture is, after all, shaped by its leadership, so those in leadership roles and managerial positions – like it or not – can expect organizational effectiveness to be directly tied to their own values and attitudes.Gideons International Executive Director Craig Warner recounts how he helped transform a once toxic culture into a flourishing workplace for his employees.
Left alone, a culture will shape itself by default. …Craig intuitively knew he was responsible for creating an environment where employees felt motivated, inspired, and rewarded for their work. He also knew that restoring trust, building the necessary communications, rewards, and recognition infrastructure to make a culture successful - and sustainable - would take time.
“[E]mployees perceived the office environment as highly political and they felt there was no trust, engagement, support, or sense of community. Many felt underpaid, overworked, and unappreciated in their roles. We realized that employees believed in this public ministry, but felt that actions from management were misaligned with our mission…” Craig shared.
Warner iterates that any successful change in company culture requires not only collaboration and communication, but trust in order for relationships to be repaired so that people can feel valued and appreciated by those in leadership positions.
We want our people to know they have a voice and we too need to be open, honest, and transparent. Over time, trust and relationships can be restored. [Y]ou have been blessed with a great responsibility to help your employees flourish by being clear, purposeful, and honest, paying attention to their needs and enabling them to grow.
Whether your own influence is over a direct report, a department, an entire organization, or even your family, there are specific steps you can take to foster a healthier culture. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but it is worth your intentionality and the hard work. Warner emphasizes that “cultural change has to be woven deep within the fabric of the organization for it to outlast its leaders.”
On the societal level, American culture desperately needs creative, committed, godly men and women to assume leadership roles of every type. This is why Christian Union is dedicated to developing and connecting the bold, God-honoring leaders of tomorrow, so the next generation can have extraordinary and lasting impact in shaping our economy, government, media, and education. That is a culture worth building.
Visit C12 Group for specific steps taken by Craig Warner that helped transform the company culture of Gideons International.
