How Can a New CEO Maintain a Healthy Company Culture?
Stepping into the role of a new CEO comes with the critical responsibility of nurturing a healthy company culture. From leading by transparent example to modeling behavior and listening, we've gathered twelve pieces of advice from seasoned CEOs and top executives. These insights offer a roadmap to fostering a thriving work environment for any new leader at the helm.
- Lead by Transparent Example
- Trust and Value Your Team
- Exemplify Respectful Collaboration
- Implement Reverse Mentorship Programs
- Promote Work-Life Balance
- Align Goals with Inclusive Culture
- Define Culture with Intention
- Balance Ambition with Well-Being
- Show Resilience in Culture
- Encourage Open Communication and Diversity
- Build Consensus for Healthy Culture
- Model Behavior and Listen
Lead by Transparent Example
As a new CEO, my advice is to prioritize open communication and lead by example. A healthy company culture starts at the top, so it's crucial to be transparent, approachable, and actively listen to your team. Encourage collaboration and recognize employees' contributions regularly. Foster an environment where feedback is welcomed and acted upon, ensuring everyone feels valued and heard. Lastly, stay true to the company's core values and be consistent in your actions, as this builds trust and sets the tone for the entire organization.
Trust and Value Your Team
If you're stepping into a CEO role, here's something that worked for us at ZenMaid: Make sure your team knows how much you trust and value them. We make it clear to our team how each person's role is crucial to what we're doing as a company. It's about giving them the space to bring their own strengths to the table. This approach has really energized our team, making everyone eager to contribute more creatively and take genuine pride in their work.
Exemplify Respectful Collaboration
My advice to a new CEO? Lead by example when it comes to company culture. People will follow what you do more than what you say. If you're transparent, respectful, and open to collaboration, your team will do the same. Make time to listen to employees at all levels and show that you genuinely care about their growth and well-being. When they see you're invested, it builds a positive vibe that keeps everyone feeling valued and motivated.
Implement Reverse Mentorship Programs
One way I'd advise a new CEO to start creating a good culture is through a 'Reverse Mentorship' program: pairing senior leaders in the company (even me!) with juniors for those juniors to mentor the leaders on a myriad of issues – such as new technologies, trends, and fresh new views of the market. In our garage door repair business, I instituted a Reverse Mentorship program for our employees of all ages to help facilitate harmonious co-existence across generational boundaries, and to infuse much-needed fresh ideas into my approach to running a senior leadership team.
Additionally, we rotate roles regularly, so that a team member from a different part of the business takes charge for a day, giving them a new perspective about how the business works. Just as importantly, it demonstrates to everyone how important the roles and challenges are across the business.
More than anything, it has encouraged better and faster cross-company communication and understanding to solve challenges and make improvements and innovation happen. It is a very modern way of working that creates a contemporary culture. Hierarchy and pecking orders are long gone: now it is 'I respect you, and we can both learn together.' All this has led to a vibrant, inclusive, and constantly learning company.
Promote Work-Life Balance
Promoting work-life balance is critical to maintaining a healthy corporate culture. Encourage your staff to take time off and value their personal time. Flexible work alternatives, such as remote work or customizable hours, can help employees better balance their professional and personal lives. A more loyal and effective workforce will result from showing that you care about their well-being and understand how important time off is. Remember that when employees feel appreciated in their personal lives, they are more likely to be engaged and fulfilled at work.
Align Goals with Inclusive Culture
As a new CEO, focusing on alignment and accountability is essential for maintaining a healthy company culture. Inspiring cultural collaboration means intentionally building an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe to share ideas. By combining this inclusive culture with clear alignment on goals and accountability in core practices, you ensure that every team member understands and values the journey and objectives. This approach fosters a thriving, engaged workforce where everyone is motivated to contribute to the company's success.
Define Culture with Intention
A new CEO needs to be intentional about the culture they want to create. The first step would be to define that culture. For the purpose of clarity, I invite them to summarize it in one word. Once that 'north star' anchor is clear, they need to ensure that the energy they bring into every space and their actions are aligned with that word. The most important part will be for them to model the culture in the way they show up, which will have a spillover effect on their executive leadership team and, consequently, be felt within the organization. They will also need to think about how to coach and support those who do not align with the culture they are envisioning.
Balance Ambition with Well-Being
Driving performance is key, but it's not everything. The real challenge is achieving that balance where ambition and well-being coexist. Encouraging a culture that respects personal time and mental health starts with small, actionable steps. Offering mental health days, implementing wellness programs, and providing flexible work schedules can work wonders.
Imagine a company where hitting targets doesn't mean sacrificing mental health. Simple steps like allowing remote work or flexible hours can make employees feel valued. Wellness programs, even something as basic as a regular meditation session or a fitness class, show that you care about your team beyond their productivity. Prioritize regular mental health check-ins and make sure your leadership team sets an example by valuing their own well-being.
Show Resilience in Culture
Culture often starts strong in a new organization. People are excited, the company is growing, and everyone is winning. However, the real opportunity to define your culture comes when the challenges and setbacks begin to feel like blows. That's when you truly show 'who you are' as a culture.
Culture is everyone's responsibility; it's reflected in how you celebrate your wins and how you strategize after a loss. Will you choose to blame and tear down, or will you build with optimism and determination? If you can master that, your people will go to the ends of the earth with you. I know I would.
Encourage Open Communication and Diversity
One piece of advice I would give to a new CEO about maintaining a healthy company culture is to prioritize open communication and transparency within the organization. Encouraging employees to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas openly can foster trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging. By actively listening to feedback and addressing any issues promptly, a CEO can create a positive work environment where employees feel valued and motivated to contribute to the company's success.
Secondly, embrace diversity and inclusion. By promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace, where employees from different backgrounds feel respected and valued, a CEO can foster innovation, creativity, and a sense of belonging among team members. Encouraging open dialogue, celebrating differences, and creating opportunities for all employees to thrive can help create a positive and inclusive company culture that attracts top talent and drives business success in today's diverse and dynamic world.
Build Consensus for Healthy Culture
The process of building consensus is a critical component in the maintenance of a healthy culture in any company, community, or collaboration. Many new leaders feel that they need to imprint themselves on an organization by taking bold action, showing strength, and being decisive, but the best leaders realize that their success is wholly dependent on the foundation provided by their team. Consensus-building shows respect and care, ensures that there is 'buy-in' for the ideas and concepts being presented, and allows a forum for dissenting voices to be heard. This process is a core component of building and maintaining a thriving, successful, positive culture.
Model Behavior and Listen
Be flexible, listen to your employees, and model good behavior. The attitude and engagement level of employees is a direct reflection of company leadership. Clich, but actions speak louder than words, and if employees see a new CEO genuinely interested in their ideas and responding to feedback with meaningful action, it will build trust and credibility.
This enthusiasm will generate an emotional response from employees, instilling a desire to help and support the company's business objectives and culture. Hold tight to the core values that provide the foundation for company culture and find ways to integrate them as often as possible into the cadence and flow of processes, policies, meetings, rewards and recognition programs, and company communications.
