{"id":78754,"date":"2020-04-22T13:42:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T08:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vskills.in\/certification\/tutorial\/?p=78754"},"modified":"2024-04-12T14:24:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T08:54:32","slug":"team-culture","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vskills.in\/certification\/tutorial\/team-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Culture is defined as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Team culture encompasses values and behaviours that “contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of a team. Culture is what we say, what we do and what we value.<\/span><\/p>\n

By the most basic definition, a team culture is made up of the values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours shared by a team. It\u2019s how people work together towards a common goal and how they treat each other. These attributes could be positive or negative.<\/p>\n

Think of your culture as the set of underlying rules and beliefs, usually unrecognized, that determine how everyone in your practice interacts with each other and with patients. Culture is the way an organization \u201cdoes business.\u201d New team members gradually absorb the practice\u2019s culture without being taught, usually without even noticing.<\/p>\n

Why does culture matter?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Culture is the beliefs, values, and behaviors that a group has adopted over time as a way to survive and succeed. We all know subconsciously that culture matters because we experience its effects on performance every day.<\/p>\n

Cultural Fit<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cultural fit is the ability for an employee to comfortably work in an environment that is in line with their own beliefs, values, and needs.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re a cultural fit you\u2019re more likely to enjoy your workplace. Be happier, commit long term, and be more productive and more engaged. This benefits you and the company.<\/p>\n

When forming a team for a good cultural fit it\u2019s important to be aware of your own cognitive biases. It\u2019s human nature to gravitate towards like-minded people with the same personality or beliefs as your own.<\/p>\n

Good Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Culture is created by people, not the objects placed around them. Putting a ping pong table on the floor of a corporate office made up of people with individualist or sexist attitudes will not automatically create a good culture. Culture takes time to build. It\u2019s not tangible.<\/p>\n

A good culture is one in which team members collaborate, share knowledge, communicate and most importantly support one another. When people feel supported and know that someone has their back they\u2019re able to do great things. It\u2019s like having a safety net that allows you to ask questions, have confidence, speak up and take on challenges. Not only does this benefit the company, but it benefits your own personal growth.<\/p>\n

In organisations (or even in a society) where culture is weak, you need an abundance of heavy, precise rules and processes. It leads to a permission seeking based culture. When a culture is strong, trust exists and people will do the right thing. Thus creating an autonomous environment or Strong culture = Trust = Autonomy + Efficiency.<\/p>\n

If you break a good culture, you break the well-oiled machine that creates your products. This broken culture can be reflected in the product being built. Disjointed, broken and miss guided.<\/p>\n

Toxic Cultures<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The culture of a company begins from the values, behaviours and decisions of an organisation\u2019s leader. If leaders are acting inappropriately and let unacceptable actions slide without discipline, this begins to normalise such behaviours as management levels trickle down.<\/p>\n

This is why Uber\u2019s company culture has been questioned. Recently, allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination have emerged. Many of the allegations directly involving leaders in top management positions. The CEO has since stepped down.<\/p>\n

The perception of support and safety has been compromised for its employees.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s say you were experiencing discrimination or sexual harassment at work. If the highest person in the company is behaving in the same such manner would you feel safe to speak up? Would your call for help be valued and heard? Probably not. This creates a culture of fear.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, in a good culture, if someone feels uncomfortable they\u2019re able to speak up because they know their company and peers will support them. In a situation where the culture is toxic, hiring in this way may further proliferate those undesirable traits. Especially if it\u2019s coming from the top of the organisation, downwards.<\/p>\n

Types of Team Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Corrosive Culture –<\/strong> A Corrosive Culture is highly toxic and is characterized by a lot of conflict, negativity, frustration, cliques, gossiping, distrust, and selfishness.<\/p>\n

From a results standpoint, people become apathetic or even resistant toward team goals because they lose respect for their coaches and\/or teammates.<\/p>\n

Country Club Culture –<\/strong> The Country Club Culture is one of entitlement, appearances, and leisure. The priority in this culture is to look good and to have a good time rather than to win championships.<\/p>\n

Congenial Culture –<\/strong> A Congenial Culture is one where the focus is primarily on getting along and preserving harmonious relationships. The group becomes more of a support group and social club rather than a high-performance team focused on achieving winning results.<\/p>\n

Comfortable Culture –<\/strong> A Comfortable Culture is one where results and relationships are of moderate importance. The team sets reasonable standards and is interested in doing well but not if it pushes them out of their comfort zone.<\/p>\n

Competitive Culture –<\/strong> In Competitive Cultures, there is a strong focus on results and moderate to minimal focus on relationships.<\/p>\n

Cut-Throat Culture –<\/strong> In a Cut-throat Culture results reign supreme. Talent and performance are the sole criteria of success in this merciless and unforgiving culture, whereas character and people skills are often neglected.<\/p>\n

Constructive Culture –<\/strong> A Constructive Culture has a solid level of focus on results and a satisfying focus on relationships. Team members are committed to being successful and are usually willing to put in the hard work necessary to achieve at the higher levels. From a relationship<\/p>\n

Championship Culture –<\/strong> A Championship Culture places a premium on both results and relationships. From a results standpoint, Championship Cultures have a strong sense of mission and purpose.<\/p>\n

Create an environment that supports continual learning – Continuous learning and identification of opportunities for improvement will help the team grow and evolve together, thereby strengthening the team culture.<\/p>\n

Team Rituals<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Rituals are as old as mankind. Rituals are vehicles of emotion, and leadership mostly takes place in our hearts: we follow those who make us feel safe, worthy and belonging to something bigger than ourselves. Rituals concentrate our attention on certain emotions, adding each individual contribution together to create a shared sensation of significance, which seems to magically multiply exponentially sometimes: \u201cWhoa!! Did you feel that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rituals harness our feelings, emotions and sensations to create a sense of community without which we cannot solve the challenges we face today. The Dalai Lama tweeted \u201csince climate change and global economy now affect us all, we have to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity\u201d. A ritual only works if everybody involved agrees to take it seriously, performing each task and symbolic gesture with reverence.<\/p>\n

Leadership and Rituals<\/strong> – All organizations have rituals \u2014 from the mundane everyday routines (coffee breaks, tea time) to major, less frequent events like annual meetings and retirement parties.<\/p>\n

Ritual acts on team performance<\/strong><\/h3>\n