Here are four things we learned in building a team who wins culture awards over and over*
1. We learned to stop focusing on how people *should* think and started understanding how they *do* think. Instead of trying to find or create perfect people, we tried to create the best environment for imperfect people to succeed.
2. We learned "If you want to be loved, you have to give up trying to being liked" and it changed our leadership style. We stopped trying to be liked by many and started focusing on being loved by our community - for all of our faults and positives alike. It sounds nice, but it ain't for the faint of heart.
3. We stopped caring if our team 'liked' each other - but demanded they respect one another. Friendships are nice but they are not necessary for success. There are people at our company who I'm not friends with - and I'm quite certain they don't 'like' me - but we respect one another and I trust them. We made it known success is quitting and working backwards from there. How are we helping them get to the place where they will quit successfully for us all and measure ourselves against that goal every single week.
Mistakes we made while building what became an award winning culture