"As a strategist, I like to ensure the teams I work with have a solid understanding of the value that is created by any cultural, business, or operational behavior we adopt. I feel that the why is equally as important as the how. I would begin by researching team dynamic case studies and identifying examples of the rates of performance and happiness for teams that adopted similar values as well as those that lacked them. I would present the results to my teams as a starting point for a discussion.
From there, I would lead a brainstorming session in which we identify behaviors that make my teammates feel safe and included as well as those that do not. From there, I would let everyone vote anonymously about the items they feel are most important to focus on culturally as well as those we should ensure the avoidance of. That would set the stage for an understanding of how we expect to operate as a group. I would leave it there as I trust the members of my teams to honor the wishes of others without specific guidelines or operating procedure lists.
I would then use the results of our discussions to lead by example. I would embody the behaviors we collectively felt would lead to a culture of safety and inclusion and I would avoid the behaviors that we decided would not. I would discuss issues in holding these values with individuals as necessary and use them as a basis for conflict resolution. I would encourage the team to reflect on a regular basis to test our assumptions about the value our culture has and make adjustments to our course as necessary."
