This is our personal take on innovation culture and why we believe innovation needs a meaningful environment to flourish.
If culture is not explicitly created, it emerges implicitly.
This is the foundation of our daily work. We create the culture around us in every interaction, even with the interactions that we omit. This holds true for all of us – and for us as leaders in particular, since we are role models for our teams. So remember: We are never neutral in the sense that our interactions don’t matter. We are culture creators for our families, friends, and colleagues, too.
Nobody remembers what you said, but everybody remembers how you made them feel.
This statement the basis for the HOW; how we act in meetings and how we treat our families. Nobody is perfect, but if we act very consciously, we can have a tremendous impact on the culture around us – independent of our positions.
A culture that cares about the small things is the very basis for all major successes – also financially.
This is the guideline to scale from the individual level to the collective level, where the collective could be our team, a complete company, or our own family. If we act every day accordingly, we are trustworthy, since we do what we say we will. Note that the say-do gap is the biggest trap for leaders and can ruin everything leaders are aiming for, such as leading by example. Be aware: The higher up the corporate ladder we get, the more we are in danger of living in a so-called echo chamber, where we believe that there is no say-do gap. This means that we as leaders must be very conscious about our KPIs, what we ask in meetings, when we shift our attention from others to our mobiles, what priorities we give to our employees, etc. It has happened multiple times that leaders with good intentions created an unconscious say-do gap.
Seek for an environment where you enable others to grow
This is the champions league. If we do not only seek for our own growth, but also coach, mentor, support, or at least not hinder others in their pursuit for personal growth. In such a culture, business becomes a means for personal growth. Imagine we use our projects as a means to facilitate personal growth of our project team. Imagine we use our leadership role as a means to facilitate personal growth of our team members or in our families. Imagine how the world looks like in five years if we all go to work with the core motivation to facilitate personal growth of our team members.
