70. The 5 Key Elements of a Strong Culture

Today I’m speaking with Cassandra Gordon, founder of Growth Culture.  Cassandra shares her vision of what leaders, companies, and workplaces need to do to evolve into thriving businesses with safe, happy employees.  It’s not complicated, but the hierarchical old-school thinking that persists in our society is blocking these transformations. Cassandra really walks the walk and talks the talk. Her own personal mantra of “respect, integrity, and justice” informs her leadership and everything she does in her day-to-day life.  She shares her reliable, repeatable system for building a thriving culture that has five cornerstone elements: Creativity, Freedom, Purpose, Safety, and Diversity.

The sad thing is, “organization design” that continues to utilize those outdated hierarchies has not changed much in nearly 300 years.  It takes courage, humility, and an open mind for leaders to change their organizations.  Do you have what it takes to overhaul your business and start thriving?

Discussion Points

• Tell us about your exciting work inside the PM &C?
• Can you share one thing you loved, and one thing you did not, about working there?
• When have your personal standards been compromised at work?
• Why is it important for leaders to know exactly ‘what they stand for?’
• Do you think enough change is happening today in Australia’s workforce?
• You often use the word “thrive” – can you share what that looks like to you
• Your tenets sound fantastic, why wouldn’t leaders choose to adopt them?
• When determining a company culture, is it easier to work with founders/startups?
• When a founder’s purpose is driven by financial goals, its extremely unhealthy for company culture
• What does “Freedom” look like within a company’s culture?
• Departments like HR, Compliance, Internal Affairs, should have no place in a culture based on trust
• How should companies recruit talent to propagate their good culture?
• Cassandra’s five elements fit into an “equation” that is Freedom + Creativity + Purpose, divided by Safety, multiplied by Diversity
• How Cassandra applied her five-point system in one of her teams and the amazing reaction people had 
• What’s the best place for a company to start when looking for an overhaul of its culture?
• Three key takeaways:
  • Leaders are pro-active
  • Leaders don’t play politics
  • Leaders build reliable, repeatable systems

Resources:

Cassandra Gordon on LinkedIn

Growth Culture Website

Growth Culture on LinkedIn

Brendan Rogers Website

Brendan Rogers LinkedIn

The Culture of Leadership Podcast Website

The Culture of Leadership LinkedIn

The Culture of Leadership Facebook Page

The Culture of Leadership YouTube Channel

The Culture of Leadership Instagram 

If you have any questions for Brendan around this episode or generally around culture, leadership, or teamwork, feel free to contact him here.