Review of The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups By Daniel Coyle
As you’ll have read in our blog posts, CLM recently had an off-site event in McCall filled with lots of strategizing, planning, and team bonding. One of the action items we left with was to revamp CLM’s Shared Values – we wanted to nail down specific values that represented the CLM of today, that we can implement in our hiring, instill in our current employees, and showcase when we are working to win new business.
I was tasked with running this group, and though we had discussed this exact topic as a whole group at our off-site, the project itself seemed a bit vague. So I did what I always do – I hit the bookstore.
I picked up “The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups” by Daniel Coyle, and it felt very relevant to the task at hand. The book is split into three sections: Build Safety, Share Vulnerability, and Establish Purpose. And while I feel like that does a pretty good job of summing up how to turn your workplace into one of Forbes’s “Best Places to Work”, I do think some of Coyle’s expansions on these topics are worth mentioning.
Build Safety
By building a safe place in your work environment, you help to create a sense of belonging. Belonging cues work wonders in our homosapien brains that have long been tuned to search for signs of danger. By sending out thoughts of belonging, you make your employees feel safe and create an improved work environment.
An easy way to send these messages to your employees is just by saying thank you, often, and meaning it. Never forget that appreciation goes a long way. It should also be noted that the famous “compliment sandwiches” are so last year – instead offer negative and constructive criticism through clear and concise dialogue (ideally face-to-face), and provide unambiguous bursts of recognition and praise, when called for. Yes, confrontation is uncomfortable, but this method reduces confusion caused by putting the two together in a “sandwich”.
To create this sense of belonging and safety with your clients, you can take a few moments to send hand-written cards. Whether to thank them for being a great partner, or to wish them a Happy Holidays – this tells your client that you care.
You can even begin to create this sense of belonging as early as the interview process for a new hire. Instead of asking run-of-the-mill questions, make sure to ask unique and engaging questions. This helps the prospective employee to know that you are creating a culture where their interests and passions will be accepted – and it also helps you to know how well they will fit into the culture you have created.
Share Vulnerability
Being vulnerable helps immensely with creating the sense of belonging and safety that we all crave. Coyle states, “Group cooperation is created by small frequently repeated moments of vulnerability.” I think we all can think of a time in our lives when being vulnerable has strengthened a relationship in our personal lives, so why wouldn’t it strengthen our group relationships at work, too?
In order to create a so-called “loop of vulnerability” according to Coyle, it must start at the top. Leaders must commit to being vulnerable “first and often”. When a leader admits that they made a mistake, or that they need assistance from another teammate, it makes other team members feel safe to do the same – hereby creating that necessary loop.
Establish Purpose
Once you have created a place for your employees to feel safe and vulnerable, the next step is to establish purpose, name clear priorities, and bring your team together. An easy way to bond with the team is of course to experience new things together outside of the workplace. Try making them related to your clients too, so your employees can feel more connected to each other, but also to those they are working for. One example in Coyle’s book references Ed Catmull’s Pixar team (if you haven’t read his book yet – make sure you add that to your list, it’s fantastic) where the Finding Nemo team all took scuba diving lessons together!
Building Safety + Sharing Vulnerability + Establishing Purpose = A Happy and Collaborative Team
While this is a very bare-bones summary of this book, these ideas are the foundation for creating successful workplace cultures. I encourage you to pick up this book yourself – the chapters are full of real-world stories that put all these ideas into perspective. Even if this isn’t the genre you normally like to read, I guarantee you will learn something new, and I daresay you’ll enjoy yourself.
