Building GREAT Workplace Cultures Through Conversation

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Workplace cultures aren't abstract concepts but are built through the conversations happening within them. When we create context through meaningful interactions, we establish commonality that leads to collaboration and reduces conflict.

• Executive presence and participation are crucial for culture-building initiatives
• Having executives claim ownership of cultural programs signals genuine commitment 
• Leaders need training in coaching conversations to handle challenging scenarios effectively
• Employees play a vital role through approachability, coachability, and direct communication
• Sustainable culture change requires certified internal experts who can maintain momentum

Be relentlessly helpful, be relentlessly positive, help people feel good about getting better.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
when organizations need to improve their workplace
cultures, we often talk aboutour employee cultures or our
workplace cultures from adistance.
We talk about engagement inthese nebulous, ambiguous terms.
Cultures are built from theconversations within them.

(00:22):
When I think about cultures, Ithink about the way we speak to
each other.
You know, recently I was at agreat agricultural company for
about four or five days and itreally went well and we ran a
session and it's one of myfavorite things to do and it's
getting people to talk and sharesocial things like favorite

(00:42):
vacation spots, favorite sports,favorite things to do when
they're away from work.
And you know what happens sooften.
We all get together and wethink we know each other, but we
don't know each other as wellas we think.
And I asked everyone to share.
How many of you met somebodythat you didn't know very well?
All the hands go up.

(01:03):
How many of you talked tosomebody you knew in some of the
sessions that you learnedsomething different?
Almost every hand in the roomgoes up.
See, when you have context, youcreate commonality.
When there's commonality, youcreate collaboration.
When there's collaboration,there's less conflict.
See, there's two sides to acoin.

(01:24):
When we go to work, we have thework side and it's important.
We got to meet expectations, wegot to do our jobs.
The flip side is the peopledoing the work.
Now I've lived by this for along time Be relentlessly
helpful, be relentlesslypositive, help people feel good

(01:48):
about getting better.
So when I think about cultures,there's a couple main
components that create greatworkplace cultures.
Number one executive presence.
Not just stopping in and wavingwhile they walk by, but, if
they can, participating.
I had four executives in one ofmy sessions.
I could hear the employeestalking.
That does not happen at othercompanies.

(02:10):
Number two having executiveskick off your sessions, because
as an outsider, I constantly getwell Tim's program, well
progress coaching.
And I recently just had anexecutive and the CEO of the
company say this is not Tim'sprogram, this is our program,
said it right while I was in theroom.
He said I don't care who wehired.

(02:31):
Now, he didn't say it like that, but he said you know, I know
Tim's hearing what I'm saying.
He's in full agreement with me.
This is our program.
And at the end I asked peoplehow many of you found that fun.
Every hand in the room went up.
We went through about three orfour sessions of, you know, just

(02:52):
asking and then demonstratingactive licity, not interrupting.
You know what the funny thingis?
It was 16 minutes of totalconversation.
16 minutes and people walkedout laughing and smiling and
just got people together.
Now I'm simplifying things.
There is a power of conversation.

(03:14):
So you need executive presence,you need executive kickoff.
Number three you need leaderswell-trained in coaching
conversations where they can befluent.
So one of the things that Iheard was how do you have a
conversation with somebody whosays I just want to go home and
do my job?
So we practiced it and a numberof leaders said oh, this is

(03:34):
great.
You know, because I get stumpedwith that.
Leaders need to be able tocoach and converse.
Number four this is a big one.
This is a huge one.
Employees need to understandtheir role of approachability,
coachability and in one of mysessions I said don't go outside
of alignment.

(03:55):
If you have a problem with yourboss, go to your boss.
Don't tell three other peopleand, by the way, ask for help,
ask for feedback, ask forassistance and when you get
feedback, whether agreement ordisagreement, just say thank you
.
Now we teach a whole thingcalled eat feedback.
When we eat feedback, weembrace, ask and tell Most of us

(04:19):
, when we get feedback we don'tlike, we either discount it to
ourselves we don't reallyembrace it or we'll ask somebody
to give us an example.
We don't want an example.
We want an example so we canexplain things away.
So here's the challenge what ifemployees became more

(04:40):
approachable, coachable, what ifthey gave leaders latitude for
mistakes?
What if they arbitrarily wentto their leader weekly and said
what am I doing well and wherecan I improve?
And just wrote it down and saidthank you.
These are the simple buildingblocks.
Now the fifth one and I hope allof you who are listening to
this will reach out to us We'vejust expanded our certifications

(05:03):
.
Number one you need a certifiedtrainer who can constantly
educate people on how to coach.
Number two you need a certifiedcoaching expert, a coach to
coach, who can sit with leaderswhen somebody says I've got
somebody who wants to getpromoted.
They started.
Last Tuesday I got anotheremployee with a negative
attitude.
I got someone who's reallylacking time management, always

(05:25):
late for work and oh, by the way, it's the CEO's nephew.
How do I have thoseconversations?
Number three invest in subjectmatter experts by certifying
them as group coaches, wherethey can facilitate.
See when the outsider comes in,like me.
Hopefully it provides value Ithink it does, but it dissipates

(05:49):
.
It's not embedded in theculture.
You build your culture throughconversations.
Good luck everybody.