What type of culture does your company have? The company that I worked for was very large and had many processes/procedures that had been in place for a long time. It made it more challenging to drive decisions and get things done. Once the company separated into two, then things changed. One company kept a lot of the old culture, while the other company took on more of an entrepreneurial culture. The change was driven from the CEO on the very first day as a new company. There were not only words put in place to describe it, but physical changes to the inside and outside of the building to see it. You could feel the change throughout the organization and we embraced our ability to get things done faster.
Have you ever thought about the culture that you are driving within your own team? The team usually follows along closely with their leader. If the leader is calm and composed, the team will follow their lead. If the leader is a little high strung and reactive, then the team will go in that direction instead. This isn’t to say that the leader always behaves one way or the other. How they act most the time drives the way the team behaves.
How would you describe the type of culture that you want to drive? Regardless of the company culture, you can affect culture change within your own team. Set expectations with them of how you want them to act or collaborate on how you will work as a team. You can set the tone, define the words for it and create what it will look like. Don’t assume that you must do things like everyone else when you are a leader. Together you can drive cultural change to set you and your team apart from the rest.