Company Leadership – Values, Culture and Vision
In the last blog post I outlined the “3 pillars of leadership“. Today we are looking at the first pilar: Company Leadership and the first 3 aspects that are part of it: Values, Culture, Vision
We feel that it is important to start with these to ensure that you have a clear understanding about the company you are building, your brand and how this will have an effect on you and your team members.
Your values
Everyone has certain values but often we are not very aware of them. They influence our decisions, our reactions and our wellbeing. It is important to be clear on the values – for your company, for yourself and your team. Ideally, they are overlapping to make sure that clear expectations can be matched and everyone stays motivated.
According to The Oxford English Dictionary: Values are principles of standards of behaviours. They are one’s judgement of what is important in life.
Action for you to take: define your own and your company’s values, so you can start building a company with values in mind.
Culture
Once you have your values clarified, the next thing you should look at is the company culture. But what actually does it mean to have a company culture? The company culture reflects the types of attitudes and agreed ways of working shared by each team member of a company or organisation.
Here are some things to think about:
- Define your company culture early
- Remember that you are representing the company
- Create a positive feedback culture
- Have a procedure in place how to handle mistakes
- Communicate clearly
Vision
A vision statement describes what a company desires to achieve in the long-run, generally in a time frame of five to ten years, or sometimes even longer. It answers the question why you started this business.
Here are some examples of a vision statement:
“To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.” Sweetgreen
“To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially-conscious businesses.” Warby Parker
“To spread the power of optimism.” Life is good
Action for you to take: Make sure you always act with a vision. What is your company vision?
If you would like to explore all of these points further, you can take a look at the latest book ‘The 3 pillars of leadership’ here.