Ignite Your Culture and Watch It Electrify Results

Connection Leads to Better Organizational Performance

High performing systems of all kinds require a strong connection between all parts for them to reach optimal performance. Whether it’s the body parts of an elite athlete, the drive train of an automobile, or the human system that makes up an organization, the highest performing and most reliable systems require strong connections.

For an elite athlete to perform at his or her optimal level, he or she must nurture his or her body by feeding it healthy foods, stressing it enough to foster growth, and continually pushing it to reach beyond previous accomplishments. To achieve elite levels of performance, every system in the body must work in concert with one anther. They must connect in ways that exceed the norm. In the end, elite athletes nurture their body in such a way that their cellular structure is stronger and more capable than the average human being.

Elite Organizations

An elite organization is really no different than an elite athlete. When everyone comes together it takes on life and becomes an organism that, if nurtured properly, can achieve optimal performance and soar beyond what many may have thought possible. Like the connections between the many body systems of an elite athlete, a strong connection within an organization is electrical.

A positive and strong connection between all parts of an organization can electrify the entire system and be the energy necessary to power high performance. One feeds and supports the other as they work in sync with one another to stretch themselves and reach beyond previous levels of success. When the system's rhythmic patterns are in sync, organizational electricity is created and what was once thought not possible become possible. Employees and customers sense this and want to be a part of an electrified environment. Therefore, these organizations experience greater loyalty and commitment. Both of which are what is needed to achieve desired results.

Securing A Strong Electrical Connection

Electricity within an organization begins with leadership. Leaders must feed and nurture a culture of success and support their people so that they feel empowered to help the organization succeed. This requires that the leader first hire the right people, place them in positions aligned to their strengths and skillset, give them responsibility and authority to make decisions, give them a voice, celebrate their success, share in their disappointments, and reward them for achieving agreed upon goals.

Developing a strong electrical connection also requires that leaders hold everyone accountable for their behavior, their performance, adherence to the organization's values, and rigorous alignment to the norms of the organization. Failure to attend to these key tenets will lead to an arcing of the organization's electricity and the development of a current that is counter to the culture of the organization. This will result in misfires and a slowing of organizational growth and poor performance.

Leaders Need to Be Conductors of Electricity

Culture is driven and developed from the top down. If an organization's culture is negative and not in alignment with expectations, all one must do is follow the path of the current. Typically, the path leads inward and upward. That's because this is from where the organization's energy typically flows, negative or positive. Leaders and organizations get what they do or don't pay attention to and what they do or don't breed. If leaders don't nurture the culture and develop it to be what they expect, a culture will still develop. However, it may not be the type of culture they were hoping for.

Believe It and You Will See It

Whether you want to admit it or not, if you ignore culture and it will eventually destroy your organization. Nurture it and you may find that it has led you to achieve performance beyond what you ever thought possible.

Randy Stepp is a Principal with Renaissance Leadership Group. RLG is a full-service business and franchise development company whose purpose is to help business owners realize their dreams of independence and freedom.

Visit Renaissance Leadership Group at www.renaissanceleadershipgroup.com to learn more about business development