Connecting Culture and Mindset in a Team Environment — March FAQ
One Friday each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts for them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
How do I connect culture and mindset for my team?
This is a great question about two critical elements to building a successful team-based environment with engaged and motivated team members. Mindset is a foundation for future and potential culture. If mindset is the way we think, culture is the way we act. I have defined culture in the past as the output of our collective behaviors that is observable by others. Our mindset is what will bring actions to life. If we want to have a service-oriented mindset, we need to believe that we are there to serve our customers, first and foremost. To have a culture of great customer experience, we must deliver on that consistently through how we demonstrate to our customers.
We can only change or create a culture by behaving in a way that supports that which we aspire to. — Chris Richardson
In Culture is What You Do, Not Something That You Create in a Day, I talk about how you can set in motion the ability to foster a culture that matches your mindset. Culture is not created by leaders, it is enabled (or not). How our teams actually act is the culture we have. A vision of a desired outcome sets the stage first, our mindset is the thinking and belief of bringing the vision to bear. Culture is the behavioral outputs of the team in the service of the vision and the mindset in which we work.
If you want to connect mindset and culture, leading with a growth mindset is the critical first step. I recently covered this in Introduction to Mindset for Retail Leaders. This will ensure you are in the right frame of mind to set up a positive culture for your team.
Empowering your team through ongoing learning and development is another way to bridge the two concepts of mindset and culture. You will create engagement, and connectedness to the overall vision that you are providing to your team.
A powerful way to continue to create new approaches and overcome the inevitable hurdles you will face is ensuring you have a diverse team. Diversity comes in many forms, the way we look, the way we think, our backgrounds, and cultures all contribute to new ideas. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are not just Human Resource terms; they are critical leadership elements to foster growth, innovation, and positive long-term results.
Leading and setting the example in all that you do will ensure you are modeling the expectations in both your thinking and your behavior. Share your mindset examples often, and continually act in the way you want your team to. Welcome and encourage feedback. Share missteps and the learnings that come from them. Empathize with the team as they learn and try new things. All of these are part of setting a positive example that will enable the team to be a part of the culture you are seeking.
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