I recently read an article about 3 things the top leader should never delegate. One of those items was culture. This aligns exactly with wise advice I have been given recently that of all the things I am expected to do as the top leader, establishing the culture inside the organization is paramount. This culture sets the tone and framework for everything we do. To find out the other two things not to delegate, see the link below.

http://thebuildnetwork.com/leadership/management/3-things-ceo-never-delegate/

Being someone who cherishes wise counsel, I have thought a lot about how to establish culture. The best book I’ve ever read on how culture is established and what makes it up is The Silent Language by Edward T. Hall. It was written many years ago, but still relevant today. (See link below)

www.amazon.com/The-Silent-Language-Anchor-Books/dp/0385055498/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407260709&sr=8-1&keywords=the+silent+language

That brings me to my approach. As an engineer, I love a good process; so that is how I have approached our culture: methodically. I believe in order to inculcate the culture I want, a good definition must exist, those around me must understand that definition and know how they impact the culture. My approach then, has been to carefully plan conversations and topics to be shared at multiple levels of organizational hierarchy in order to build understanding of the definition piece by piece. This structured approach allows me to work within my strengths and natural abilities to achieve a very nebulous goal. There is absolutely much more to establishing a culture, like the message itself, its delivery method and lots of individual conversation. The way I behave and respond in myriad circumstances further reinforces culture. Maybe I will have a chance to discuss some of those specific strategies and methods in future posts. The point I am trying to make here is that for me crafting a culture is a lot of delicate planning. Its the only way I know how, one carefully placed piece at a time.