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Many hard-working, no-nonsense managers and supervisors think the word "culture" is something remote and alien to what they do for a living. Culture is not thought of as any part of a supervisor's daily life on the job. The truth is that supervisory personnel encounter culture every day - the culture of the workplace. This culture is more important to productivity than wages, benefits or working conditions. More than almost anything else, the culture determines the success or failure of the organization. It's something every supervisor needs to understand and work with. The culture is simply the "personality" of the group. More than anyone else, from the top to the bottom of the organization, supervisors and middle managers can shape and mold the culture of the workplace. Listed are 10 specific ways to make the culture in a workplace better, stronger, healthier, more humane, and more productive.

Many hard-working, no-nonsense managers and supervisors think the word "culture" is something remote and alien to what they do for a living. To them, culture is highbrow art and music. Or a glob of microplasm that medical researchers study through a microscope in a sterile laboratory somewhere. They don't think of culture as any part of a supervisor's daily life on the job. They're missing an important point.

The truth is that supervisory personnel encounter culture every day - the culture of the workplace (their factory, shop or office). This culture is more important to productivity than wages, benefits or working conditions. More than almbst anything else, the culture determines the success or failure of the organization. It's something every supervisor needs to understand and work with.

What Is?

Every group or organization (e.g., family, clan, brotherhood, scout troop, street gang, bridge club, corporation, labor union, staff, team or crew) has its own unique culture. The culture is simply the "personality" of the group.

The culture is the unwritten code of conduct (My dictionary calls it the "socially transmitted behavior patterns.") made up of the mores, core values, cherished beliefs, priorities, traditions and informal rules and roles of the organization. The culture defines what's important, what's expected, what's accepted, what's preferred, what's tolerated, what's rewarded, what's punished and what's taboo within the group. If you want to know who has the real power, how things really get done and what it takes to go along and get along in the organization, you won't find the answers in the office rules, union contract, official policy manual or employee handbook. The only way to learn these things is to understand the culture of the organization. If you are to succeed as a supervisor, you can't afford not to.

Why Is Culture So Important?

Workplace cultures are interactive. They are shaped by the workers who make up the culture; and, in turn, those workers are shaped by the culture in which they work. There is no question that behavior is heavily influenced by the culture of the group. That's why no supervisor or manager can be effective without understanding how the culture in their workplace actually operates.

Unfortunately, some managers spend their entire career completely unaware of how things really work in their section, division or department. They come to the job every day without a clue about what's going on around them. It is almost as if they lived and worked in some parallel universe, rather than in the real world of the workplace.

Of course, supervisors who are not in tune with the culture of the organization quickly become irrelevant. They don't lead the employees who work under them. Their workers merely tolerate them; and, then, pretty jnuch do things their own way. You don't want that to happen to your career. If you don't have a handle on the culturally-embedded behaviors, biases and beliefs of your employees, you are deprived of a powerful tool for motivating and managing them. As it turns out, how people in the organization feel about the organization, themselves, their job and their future is largely the result of the culture in the workplace.

It is the culture on the job that determines how people interact, how they treat each other, how they communicate and what they communicate, how open and honest they will be, how hard they work, how loyal they will be and how much they will put up with.

Likewise, it is the culture that often attracts people to the organization - or drives them away. In many cases, workers don't leave jobs because of low pay or work loads. They leave because of the culture.

Wow! Obviously, culture is a huge deal for workers - and for supervisors. It should be no surprise, then, that managers or supervisors ignore the culture of the workplace at their peril. Look around at the organizations of workplaces you know best. Some are closed, rigid, inflexible and oppressive. Others are open, empowering, flexible and upbeat. What makes the difference? Often, it is the supervisor or manager in charge.

Role of the Supervisor

More than anyone else, from the top to the bottom of the organization, supervisors and middle managers can shape and mold the culture of the workplace. Of course, supervisors can't mandate or dictate a particular culture; but they can nudge, cajole, convince and lead by example. Effective supervisors establish a tone and set the agenda for the organization. By reminding people, at all levels, of the group's mission, defining lofty goals, articulating expectations, raising standards and rewarding preferred performance, the leader can dramatically influence workers' beliefs and behaviors.

The most lasting impact leaders can have on the work environment is by living their values ("walk the talk") and modeling desired attitudes and actions.

Employees in all businesses and industries respond to authentic, principle-driven leadership. If the supervisor consistently sets an example of trust, respect, civility, honesty and integrity, these values will eventually catch on with others. Supervisors can actually create the kind of culture they want in their workplace. It's not easy. It takes times and hard work; but it is possible.

Noted writer, Robert Townsend, may describe the leader's influence best: If people are coming to work excited, if they are making mistakes freely and fearlessly, if they are having fun, if they are concentrating on doing things, rather than preparing reports and going to meetings - then somewhere you have a leader.

It's obvious managers can have subtle influences on the way workers think and perform. But can a supervisor really change an existing, well-established culture? You bet. It happens every day. In his best seller, Authentic Leadership, Bill George uses the classic example of Marilyn Nelson, CEO of the Carlson Companies. Shortly after taking over the company, Nelson invited a group of MBA students to evaluate and give her feedback on the culture within the giant hospitality and travel corporation. Upon completion of their study, Nelson asked for their findings. With some reluctance, one of the students finally responded, "We hear from employees that Carlson is a sweatshop that doesn't care."

Shocked and disappointed, Nelson immediately began to apply her considerable talent, passion, energy and motivational skills to transform the corporate culture. Over time, Carlson Companies was changed from a hard-nosed, growth-driven, unfeeling organization to a "culture of caring" widely recognized as one of the nation's best places to work. Not so incidentally, profits also improved in the process. If Nelson can turn around the culture of a large company like Carlson, you can do it in your factory, shop or office. But how?

How To Improve the Culture of the Workplace

Cultures are organic. They are constantly growing, morphing, reforming, adjusting and adapting. Sometimes, without the people in them even realizing it. Cultures in every workplace are continuously being shaped and sculpted by a myriad of forces and influences. Organizations can learn. When they do, their internal environment is altered. In short, cultures can change. And supervisors can change them. It's something you can do, too.

Workers in all fields and industries relate and respond most to their immediate supervisor, rather than to some remote corporate headquarters. That's why, as a manager, you can create an improved workplace culture in your area of responsibility.

In addition to modeling the beliefs and actions you value, following are ten specific ways to make the culture in your workplace better, stronger, healthier, more humane and more productive:

1. Concentrate on building positive relationships. People work better together when they know and respect each other as individual human beings.

2. Practice open communication. It makes employees feel valued and involved. When you override gossip with hard facts and accurate information, you build trust in the process.

3. Watch your language. The words you choose can shape the way people in the organization think and feel about the organization. If you use militaristic metaphors, you can expect a war-like organization.

4. Be inclusive. When everyone is involved in the planning and dreaming, as well as the hard work, you multiply talent.

5. Practice the Golden Rule. It still works. If you only have one rule in your organization, this should be it. When followed, the Golden Rule eliminates self-defeating rivalries, petty politics and wasteful turf battles.

6. Strive to be a "servant leader." If you remove obstacles and give workers what they need to do their best work, everyone benefits.

7. Use "Founders' Tales" to remind all employees of the original vision of the organization and what it was intended to stand for. The founding heroes can still inspire current workers to do and be their best.

8. Grant everyone in the organization permission to have fun on the job. When people are having fun, they work better, faster, harder and longer.

9. Institutionalize ethical behavior. Formally include honesty, respect and integrity in the organization's mission statement, goals and objectives and strategic planning documents. When this happens, workers become convinced that you mean it.

10. Hire people who espouse the values you want for your workforce.

Using the strategies above or whatever else works, effective supervisors strive to align the everyday culture of the workplace with the overall goals of the organization. When that happens, look out world - big things are about to happen. Culture is a powerful determinant of longlasting success. Individuals come and go, but organizations preserve knowledge, behaviors, mental maps, norms and values over time and translate those cultural expectations to newcomers. It is the culture that keeps the organization going beyond the tenure of any single supervisor manager.

The best leaders strive to create a culture that empowers in dividual self-actualization and promotes optimum, creative collaboration at the same time. If you build that kind of workplace, they (workers) will come. They will stay. They will produce. And you will have made your workplace better. That's what good supervisors do. You don't want to do any less.