How To Build A Team That Defies Gravity
As a two-time woman founder with over 15 years of experience, I've seen firsthand the power of a winning company culture.
Full disclosure: I'm not a social scientist or HR professional. But I am a passionate business owner obsessed with cultivating an "elite culture"—one where people are driven, innovative, and have a blast working together.
Sounds amazing, right? Here’s my simple framework for creating a winning company culture and ultimately improving your business. It all boils down to three key ingredients: a clear mission, assembling the right team, and empowering that team to take action.
Mission: Your North Star and Rallying Cry
Imagine this: you're leading a company on a mission as audacious as landing a person on the Moon. The stakes are high, the challenges are unknown, and you need a team that can defy gravity. At this point, you might be thinking that this is reading more like science fiction than a culture framework. Building a successful company culture requires the same ingredients as space exploration: meticulous planning, unwavering belief, and a team that thrives under pressure.
That's where your mission comes in. Without a clear, compelling mission for your business, there's no roadmap for success and no foundation for a winning culture. Who are you? What are you doing? And most importantly, why does it matter? These are the fundamental questions your mission needs to answer.
This mission needs to permeate every corner of your organization. It's your North Star, your rallying cry, the guiding light that helps everyone make decisions. Every move, every strategy, every project should ask the question: "Does this get us closer to, or further away from, our mission?"
Think of it like this: if your mission is to be the world's leading provider of sustainable energy solutions, decisions about quick-fix, polluting technologies wouldn't align, would they? A clear mission keeps everyone focused and in sync, ensuring everyone's view is in the same direction - looking to the Moon.
Values: The "How" of Your Mission
Now, let's say you've landed on your moonshot mission. Fantastic! But here's the thing: mission alone isn't enough. You also need to define your values – the core principles and behaviors – that will guide your team in achieving that mission.
Values are the "how" of your mission. Think about the characteristics your team needs to embody every day to make your vision a reality. Are collaboration, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of excellence important to your success? Then those values should be woven into the fabric of your company culture.
Here's where things can get tricky. Let's say your mission is about achieving record-breaking growth. Sounds great, right? But without clearly defined values, "growth" can become a slippery slope. Does growth mean sacrificing quality of output or employee well-being? Absolutely not!
Your values act as the control panel within your spaceship. They ensure your team pursues growth the right way, navigating challenges and reaching new heights without compromising the integrity of your mission or the well-being of your crew. Do you reward creativity and calculated risks? Do you prioritize open communication and a culture of learning? These values become the control panel within your spaceship, shaping the way people interact, collaborate, and solve problems.
Assembling Your Crew: How the Right Hires Can Help You Achieve Lift-Off
Culture is something that doesn’t just happen - it’s cultivated one hire at a time. And just like some lousy math can extrapolate into missing your mark by miles, one or two team members can sour the culture you are striving to craft.
Not everyone is cut out for space travel and not everyone will be right for your team. So how do you know who to hand over the spacesuit to?
Here are some key attributes to look for in your team:
Masters of the 'Art of the Possible': They embrace audacious goals and constantly push boundaries.
Pioneers, not Passengers: They're the first to volunteer for the unknown and tackle challenges head-on.
Maniacal about the Mission: They live and breathe your mission statement, driven by a deep desire to see it achieved.
When doing interviews or working with recruiters, having culture-related interview questions or a culture evaluation scale during the interview process should be a key part of the hiring decision.
Let Go and Lift Off: Trust Your Crew
We've arrived at the final and arguably the most important element of a winning culture: empowering your team.
Here's the thing: once you've established your mission and defined your values, it's time to trust your team. Take the leap of faith and ignite those boosters! It’s time to trust them to own their roles, make decisions, and achieve the impossible.
Micromanagement is the enemy of innovation. Empower your team members to be radical owners of their work, fostering a culture of creativity and problem-solving.
Letting go is scary. Being in a rocket to the Moon is (I imagine) pretty terrifying… at first. But it's also incredibly powerful. When you empower people with the responsibility and freedom to shape their work environment, something out of this world happens.
They become invested, self-policing, and fiercely protective of the culture they’ve created. They lift each other up, hold each other accountable, and constantly find ways to improve. I get starry-eyed just thinking about it.
Leaders: The Success of the Mission Begins and Ends with Us
Yes, assuming you’ve done the work of crafting the mission, communicating the values, and hiring the right team, they will be your proverbial moon boots on the ground, but this doesn’t mean that as leaders we get to watch from the control room. We have a job to do.
Leaders need to be the loudest advocates for our mission and values, constantly reinforcing them through our words and actions.
We are also responsible for building a team where everyone shares the same core beliefs and is passionate about the goal.
Building a winning company culture requires intentionality and effort. By following these steps, you can create a team that is driven, innovative, and ready to reach for the stars.
Remember, as leaders, the responsibility falls on us. We must craft a clear vision, meticulously select our team, and empower them to take flight.
Together, we can achieve the impossible and leave a lasting impact on the business world.
TLDR Key takeaways:
For Crafting Mission Statements:
Don't be afraid to get creative! Is growth your ultimate goal? Define what growth means to your company and why it matters.
Mission statements are:
Clear
Concise
Unifying
Inspiring
For Hiring Teams:
Remember, look for skills AND culture fit. Consider investing in a dedicated recruiter who understands your company's DNA and can identify the perfect "culture fits."
For Leaders:
Upholders and cheerleaders of the mission and core values
Building the right team
Empowering our team to take on the world
Ready to experience a lunar launch? Join the team at CloudWerx!
If you are ready to join an out-of-this-world team, and want to experience this culture for yourself, apply to one of our open positions. We can’t wait to connect and see what amazing solutions we can create together.
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