When it comes to company culture, what is it that one looks for?

Almost immediately, qualities such as excellence, innovation, knowledge, and industry leadership come to mind.  But are these enough? 

One must remember that all the qualities that we want in our company culture stem from strong people with a healthy sense of being. Therefore, your company culture needs to strike a balance between individual well-being and relationships among employees.

The School of Sharks Culture

• Relationships matter, but well-being is unimportant.
• Relationships are transactional
• Relationships are valued for their utility.
• Business results are achieved.
• Employee morale is low.
• Employees are least loyal.
• The mascot of this workplace is the shark; a hard-driving workplace where if you falter, you’re dead meat!

The Doom Loop Culture

• Nothing matters – neither relationships nor well-being.
• Employees can be at either end of the spectrum – either too hard or too little.
• Performance, in general, is low.
• The mascot of this workplace is the opossum; a sense of drift fills up this workplace.

The Lone Leopards Culture

• The focus is on individualism and not teamwork.
• Individual well-being is essential, but human relationships are not so much.
• Ideal for people who want to work alone and not collaborate.
• The mascot of this workplace is the leopard; strong, capable, and a loner.

The Trusted Teams Culture

• The ideal workplace culture that values both individual well-being and relationships among employees.
• Abundance and the “respect everyone” mindset are prevalent.
• Communication is key.
• The team works around common goals and mission.
• The mascot of this workplace is the dolphin; social, good communicators, strong team players, and capable alone.

Teams may not fall into just any one single quadrant. For example, some team members may be sharks, and others may be leopards.

Ask the team to consider where they are and where they want to be. Then, discuss and decide which is the best scenario for your team and work towards it.

Via