Without the right team culture, every strategy is merely a plan. A clear, strategy-enhancing culture is indispensable for turning plans into results. Many companies view "business strategy" and "team culture" as separate topics, often with different responsibilities within the organization. This leads to undesirable consequences. It's a missed opportunity, as consciously defining and developing your culture in alignment with your intended strategy is crucial and highly achievable.

In this deep dive, we will explain how to develop a strong team culture that aligns with your business strategy. We'll cover what culture is and the factors that shape it. We will also explore whether every business strategy truly requires a shared culture. Additionally, we will examine different cultural archetypes and determine which archetype best fits specific strategies. Finally, we will discuss the type of leadership and team rituals that align with each cultural archetype. These insights will help you create a culture that enables your organization to achieve its goals

Cultures are maintained or developed through communication about what behavior is expected, encouraged, or permitted. These signals indicate what is valued, what is important, and what people do to belong, be accepted, and be rewarded

Change these messages, and you change the behavior. Change the behavior, and you change the culture. But how do you do that? As a leader, there are two tools you can use to consciously (or unconsciously) influence behavior in a team: Leadership Messages and Team Rituals.

All observable intentional (and unintentional) signals from leadership to which team members assign meaning. Examples include: who gets promoted? What gets rewarded? Where is time/money spent? What takes priority in times of pressure?

All recurring team-building activities in which all team members (can) participate, such as: attracting and hiring new talent, onboarding new team members, learning and development, performance management, and employee engagement.

Many companies consist of a mix of different locations, expertise, and skills spread throughout the organization. This often leads to a high degree of autonomy for individual parts, each with its own subculture. Is that a bad thing? This is often the case with larger companies operating from multiple locations. However, this can also be particularly relevant in the context of mergers and acquisitions, where different companies are merged into a new company and a new shared culture (or cultures) must emerge.

To answer the question of whether all these parts of a company need to be connected by a single centrally defined culture, we need to look at the business strategy: is success entirely dependent on sharing one central culture, or can we be successful while acknowledging the existence of certain subcultures? A company does not necessarily have to operate from one culture. In fact, there can be good reasons to opt for a different cultural strategy. Companies can choose from three fundamental cultural strategies:

Each archetype has its own characteristics and is suitable for specific strategic goals. By choosing the right archetype, you can set up cultural elements that most contribute to the success of your organization.

To determine which culture type best fits your company, it's important to ask yourself the crucial question: What is our goal, and how do we try to stay ahead of our competition?

In an Achievement culture, leadership messages mainly emphasize responsibility and result orientation. They make it clear that team members are accountable for their performance. Meetings focus on setting clear targets and discussing progress. Mistakes are openly shared; in the case of persistent underperformance, leaders intervene quickly. Meetings start and end punctually with concrete actions.

Within this culture, established on high standards and personal dedication, the team adheres to a 'work hard, play hard' mentality, with clear guidelines. Mentoring is hierarchical and intensive, and there is a strong link between performance and reward. Team members are acutely aware of their impact on the organization.

In a customer-centric culture, these are focused on the customer experience. Leaders invest in conversations with customers and integrate their needs into decision-making processes. Investments are aimed at improving the customer experience, with customer research being as important as financial results. Exceptional customer experiences are celebrated and serve as inspiration.

These, within this culture, focus on actively involving employees in customer strategies. During onboarding, new employees undergo training focused on customer-centricity. Customer visits are part of their work, and job rotations provide team members with insights into various customer contacts. Customer satisfaction and feedback are essential for their performance.

In an innovation culture, they are focused on a clear vision for the future and promoting a forward-thinking mindset. Leaders not only communicate their ambition but also inspire team members to think outside the box, embrace creativity, and challenge the current status quo. They are willing to take calculated risks to achieve innovations and adapt easily to changes. Experimentation is encouraged, and resources are allocated to innovative projects. Leadership encourages delegated authority so that team members can make decisions independently.

Within this culture, they reinforce an innovative mindset by emphasizing bold decisions, stimulating initiative, and cultivating a shared vision. New employees bring fresh insights through pilot projects. Peer mentoring promotes knowledge sharing and talent development, independent of hierarchy. Innovation and idea generation are woven into performance management, with cross-functional collaboration and 360-degree feedback. Regular reviews and retrospectives support continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.

Within the One-Team culture, they are focused on promoting overall collaboration within the organization. Leaders ensure that every team member feels valued and involved in the decision-making process, and they encourage transparent communication within and between teams. By providing support and resources that foster collaboration and knowledge sharing, they build a culture of trust, with integrity, reliability, and well-aligned incentives at its core.

Within this culture, solidarity and collaboration are promoted, supported by an extensive onboarding process that establishes direct connections between departments. Career paths encourage rotations within the organization, while mentorship and clear reporting lines ensure knowledge sharing and enhanced collaboration. The reward system recognizes and values employees who support others, contributing to a culture of mutual support and collective success.

In the Greater Good culture, leadership messages primarily focus on enhancing engagement with the mission and values of the organization. Leaders maintain high ethical standards and serve as role models for others. They motivate and inspire team members to connect with the company's purpose. In addition, they understand the social and environmental impact of the company's activities. These leaders foster a sense of community and social responsibility, both within and outside the organization.

Team rituals focus on nurturing passion and commitment to the mission, with an emphasis on choosing a purpose over an 'ordinary' job. During the onboarding of new team members, the focus is on connecting with the mission and understanding integrity processes. Time is spent on personal development and volunteering. The organization considers indicators that take into account the broader impact on the community and integrity concerning the mission. Activities such as company events and community initiatives are common, as are leadership reviews that measure team engagement.