The culture shift that changes everything
“Culture lives and dies in how we do relationships” – Lisa Merlo-booth
The state of any team culture rests on the relationships of its members.
Sadly, though, far too many leaders demand that their employees build excellent customer relationships while ignoring the most important relationships in any company: the relationships with their employees.
If you’ve ever been in a leadership position, you’ve likely felt the pressure to build your company’s bottom-line. After all, if a company doesn’t have a healthy bottom-line, it won’t survive. When this pressure rears its head — which is often — you, like many leaders, may go into demand mode.
Demand more from your employees; more time, more effort, more products, more sales, more, more, more. The problem is if you haven’t built a strong relational foundation, demanding more from an already beleaguered team will result in less output, more resentment, and a flailing bottom line. In effect, you weaken your greatest assets — your workers.
Your primary focus should be building strong team relationships before demanding they build extraordinary customer relationships.
This focus is a radical shift in how most businesses work.
It’s also a necessary one. When you take care of your employees, they take care of you. They stay longer, they’re more loyal, and they will work harder than ever before for the success of their team and company. This is not rocket science. And yet so many leaders fail at this most basic task, you’d think it was.
Then again, there are few role models when it comes to establishing healthy relationships — so it’s understandable that so many leaders focus their attention on the products and numbers rather than the messiness of human relationships.
Don’t be one of those leaders, though.
Build your foundation on strong team relationships. Create Radically New Cultures™ everywhere you go. This one move will set you apart from countless leaders across the globe. Because you and your employees deserve to work somewhere that lights you up, not hollows you out.
Create relationally strong teams founded on emotional safety and trust.
This is your rallying cry:
- Treat every member with respect — no exceptions.
- Build emotional safety where intimidation, rudeness, and shaming have no place.
- Make every person feel valued, not just useful.
- Create space for honest, respectful conversations without fear of retribution or reactivity.
- Hold everyone accountable for how they show up — including yourself.
- Lead with kindness and expect it in return.
- Build a culture where everyone carries the weight, not just the few.
The best leaders treat their employees as valuable, necessary assets to the success of their teams. They garner trust through their actions and demand all team members create a safe, thriving environment where everyone can do their best work. They prioritize the well-being of their staff first and foremost and hold all staff accountable for doing the same with one another.
Challenge: Don’t be a traditional leader. Challenge the status quo. Create a Radically New Culture™ in the business world — one driven by prioritizing the relationships within the team first and foremost, and expanding out from there.
