Build a strong business culture to retain top employees

By John Corban

Why do some businesses and sports teams have great cultures and long-term team members? Let’s look at some ideas for building a strong business.

When researching this topic for his book Culture Code, Dan Coyle found that great companies mainly retain staff longer because they satisfy their team’s innate human need for belonging and purpose. Culture is built on relationships, connectedness, growth, and a shared goal.

Culture, like any relationship, is built up over time through everyday moments. Shaping your company’s culture hinges less on big moments and more on those seemingly mundane interactions your team has with you and one another in the office and on-site.

Build belonging
Building belonging is about creating a safe environment where team members can feel connected, valued, supported, and safe to fail. To build a strong culture, leaders must build genuine relationships that signal to team members that they are connected, safe, and share a future.

Two great sporting coaches are beloved by team members because although they give honest feedback, they show that they care about every team player. Gregg Popovich, the legendary coach of the San Antonio Spurs, and Wayne Bennett, the legendary NRL coach, both share belonging as a priority.

Popovich goes out of his way to make his team feel seen and known. Whether it’s mock wrestling with a player twice his size, hosting a private dinner with the team after a tough loss, or asking about a player’s child, his small, everyday interactions show his team that he values them as complex human beings. Every interaction shows them he cares. Bennett has a similar approach.

As a leader, your goal should also be to assist team members in forming relationships, trusting each other, and feeling like a unified team. What I read wasn’t surprising; we all know this from our interactions with sporting teams and our experience building friendships.

Listening to employees and showing them you care by asking about their lives outside work, planning their goals with them, and showing them they are part of a company’s shared vision and goals, are key to building belonging.

Encourage a culture where all employees feel safe to express their opinions, ideas, and concerns.

Sharing vulnerability
Vulnerability is not about touchy-feely moments; it’s about showing your team that you are not perfect and that you have flaws.

One idea around this is sharing your screw-ups. As the leader, your team respects you and your experience and will respect you more when you share that you screwed up.

Another important role is asking for and providing feedback and support.  

Share the truth about the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of a project and say “We will work on them together. Here’s where we failed (all of us) and what we could have done better.” This supports a culture of learning and progress, not perfection.

Establishing purpose
Leaders should ensure that employees are on the same page regarding questions such as ‘What are we about?’, ‘What do we stand for?’, and ‘Where are we headed?’.

The major goal of a business is to maximise human effort toward a shared vision. When a culture is strong, the team focuses on a shared purpose or mission, which is the daily activity that allows a company to build and move toward its vision. 

Purpose keeps employees united, enabling them to work together toward a vision and support each other in the process.

Stop a toxic attitude
There should be zero tolerance for jerks because they will considerably diminish the team’s performance. So, regardless of a jerk’s skillset, do not tolerate a person with a toxic attitude (unless he will change immediately). Removing such a person sends a great message to the team that you support them and won’t tolerate such a person’s attitude.

We all know that building a strong culture is critical to developing a strong business year after year, and imperative to retaining good team members for a long time.

John Corban
Business Coach for Landscapers,

Horticulturists and Nursery owners
Mob: 0433 27 1980
www.landscaperscoach.com.au