Ducks in a Row: Culture = Relationships
by Miki Saxon
In 2013 I wrote,
Actually, a corporation isn’t an entity at all. It’s a group of people all moving in the same direction, united in a shared vision and their efforts to reach a common goal.
In other words, they relate.
Relationships are formed when two or more people interact.
According to Todd Davis, chief people officer for FranklinCovey, with more than 30 years of experience,
It’s the nature of the relationships between those people [think culture – Ed] that really creates a team’s or an organization’s or a company’s competitive advantage. I think it’s critical, and it’s really what makes or breaks the success and effectiveness of an organization.
Up until recently, ‘relationship’ was typically used more in our personal world; using it in conjunction with work is relatively new.
For decades I’ve said that people have two sides to their head, personal and professional, and rarely do they use the skills from one side in dealing with the challenges on the other.
People spend time (and often money) learning to improve their romantic relationships, but don’t necessarily think of tweaking what they learned and using it to improve relationships with their colleagues/subordinates/boss, but they should.
Should, because taking time to really understand where others are coming reduces personal stress.
Should, because relationships are the keys to success — yours, the team’s, the bosses’, and the company’s.
In short, should, because it works.
Image credit: Katy Ereira
