The best leaders take a culture-first approach to work. Why? Because creating a work environment where individuals can flourish both personally and professionally is the only way we achieve sustainable success. Promoting happiness, engagement and collaboration is key, however, putting this into action can be tricky. Here are some tools I use to make it work.

1. Create frameworks that enhance autonomy.

Achieving work-life balance, as we all know, is crucial, with businesses needing to implement supportive policies that help create space for living beyond work. What do these look like? At our agency, this includes policies such as truly flexible working hours and remote work opportunities. The way we’ve created this option is by investing in organizational software and creating frameworks with our client deliverables and deadlines that create predictability in their work. Our plan for our clients is created months out so that we can of course own and move strategy work forward quicker, but it also allows us more freedom to pivot internally with longer lead times in projects. 

Leaders can empower their teams to effectively manage their personal responsibilities while excelling in their professional roles. Promote regular breaks, limit overtime (if you have it), and foster a supportive environment where employees feel comfortable taking time off when needed. Recognizing and appreciating the importance of personal well-being contributes to higher productivity, reduced burnout, and increased job satisfaction at work as well as happier, healthier people outside of work.

2. Take a culture-first approach. 

One tool that has been a game changer for our company is the implementation of a culture scorecard assessment which helps evaluate potential hires and business opportunities. We have a filtered lens around hiring and choosing the clients we work with around values. When hiring new talent we look at things like: Are we aligned with chemistry and shared visions for why we were all in business? To make a difference in the world? Do they respect our process needs? We’ve retained the majority of our team and all of our initial leadership team through the past six years by putting culture first. We respect and admire one another, and we all have a fundamental foundation of alignment with our values and how we treat people and work.

For potential clients and partners, we also might ask questions such as:

  • Do they respect our process needs?
  • Do the brands have the resources internally to support our work together?
  • Is the budget healthy and sufficient to support the goals and outcomes of the partnership?

We also score the sustainability of the partnership by the workflow — how long are their timelines? Asking these questions in our prospecting creates clarity around if we will align long term. With these intentional efforts, we’ve seen consistently higher retention rates and even some clients that leave us for a season and come back because of the personal connection to values. Making a culture scorecard assessment also helps leaders get really clear on their own values, as well as allows them to adopt a culture-first approach to growth, prioritizing shared values and respect. 

3. Say no to busy culture. 

Being what they call a reluctant leader, I’ve had to learn that people not only need me to be a good leader, they want me to be a good leader. But how does one lead? And not only lead, but lead with compassion, kindness and intention? For me that means unsubscribing to busy culture and saying no to traditional fast-paced agency life. The main culture we’re fighting off is the competitive norms that were built into us from working at other agencies. 

The way we combat this is normalizing conversations that are unfiltered, but purposeful and kind. We try to get our team to slow down when things get hectic and look at our processes instead of blaming people or cutting others down. We look at our team functionality and ways we can help make each other’s loads lighter. Just making time to listen and make sure everyone is given a platform to share what they’re experiencing from their perspective. Continuing to think about the culture first, we have a no ego policy — all of us are working together because we want to support each other and see one another succeed. By promoting a zero-ego policy and fostering a supportive atmosphere, teams are encouraged to collaborate, support one another, and celebrate individual and team successes. This approach helps to build solid foundations and cultivate a sense of unity.