We love to read, and a special place on our bookshelf belongs to books on corporate culture :) Our recruiting agency, EvoTalents, is a distributed team. This means that it's doubly important for us to maintain our corporate culture and inspire newcomers to the team. And, of course, we want to share insights with you. Here's our curated top list!
1. Patrick Lencioni - "The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business"
"The Advantage" is the guide you should start with if you have the task of:
- Establishing corporate culture
- Creating a plan for its communication to internal employees and external audiences
- All while maintaining your uniqueness throughout the implementation :)
Patrick Lencioni recommends starting with "organizational health":
"An organization has integrity - health - when it is whole, consistent, and complete, that is, when management, operations, strategy, and culture fit together and make sense."
To achieve this, organizations need four steps:
-
Build a cohesive leadership team. An interesting example: how often jokes are made about intrigues within the team, role confusion, bureaucracy, and disorder is an indicator of the company's condition. To "fix" discord within the team, Patrick suggests reading his well-known book "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" :) By the way, it's a very easy read, as it's written in a business-novel style.
-
Gain clarity. Gaining clarity means finding answers to questions like: "Why do we exist?", "How do we behave?", "What do we do?", "How will we succeed?", "What's most important right now?", "Who does what?" Even if the team hasn't found a single answer to these questions but has become united during the search, it's more important than finding the right answer :)
-
Cascade clarity. Use cascading communication (from leaders to the team) to inform about changes and innovations to avoid generating false rumors and incomplete information.
-
Reinforce clarity. Systematically remind employees of the company's mission and values and bring in new team members who align with those values.
"Without a clear understanding of what fits or doesn't fit with the culture, and without active involvement from the leadership team, even the most elaborate hiring process will not yield the desired results."
Who is this book for? Primarily, it's for company owners and top management. At times, it raises "uncomfortable" questions and makes you think deeply about the answers. The fourth chapter, "Reinforce Clarity," provides valuable advice on hiring "like-minded" individuals into the team.
2. Jack Mitchell's "Hug Your People"
Jack Mitchell talks about the five foundations of a hugging culture:
Attention
A culture of attention includes:
- Pleasant and friendly relationships at work.
- Positive and competent employees who want to learn and listen to feedback.
- Knowing all employees by name and their hobbies/habits.
How to recognize "your" employees? Jack answers: "Ask yourself: would you want to sit next to them during a transatlantic flight?"
Trust
Trust starts with open company data: sales results, statistics, and goals. Encourage employees to express their opinions and don't be afraid of conflicts; they happen even in the most cohesive teams.
Pride
What does it take for each employee to feel pride in working for the company?
The recipe is simple: emphasize the importance of employees in the corporate mission, make the workspace an extension of their home, involve employees in charitable initiatives, and don't forget to applaud collective achievements :)
Involvement
Just say, "I need your help" and "What do you think?" to engage and involve employees. Ideally, everyone should feel connected to one big and important endeavor :)
Recognition
Money is a powerful motivator, but non-material rewards can be just as effective. Photos of employees in advertisements, lunches in their honor, hugs, and kind words make people feel special.
Conclusion: This book is about the unique culture of the Richards and Mitchells network. It's challenging to replicate this approach if your company is not all about "hugs." Read the book to understand how you can soften your approach and improve the atmosphere in your company.
3. Frederic Laloux - Reinventing Organizations
Summarizing this book in this article is a mission impossible!
Frederic Laloux breaks down organizations from primitive ("infrared") to modern - "green" and "teal." Analogous to Maslow's hierarchy, teal organizations correspond to the pinnacle of the pyramid - self-realization.
At their core:
-
Self-management: Teams self-organize and operate on an egalitarian system. There is no need for consensus in decision-making, but there are facilitators whom the team can consult with.
-
Wholeness: Traditional organizations typically reward only a specific set of employee qualities and skills. Teal organizations reward the full range of qualities, both professional and personal. The main rule is to be at work who you really are.
-
Evolutionary purpose: The goal of teal organizations is not to try to control the future but to listen to themselves and try to understand what the organization wants to become. HR processes also change. For instance, interviews are conducted not by HR managers but by employees who might soon become the candidate's colleagues. This approach allows the team to bring in someone who aligns with the organization's values.
If you are a business owner, you will definitely want to read this book along with "Holacracy: The Revolutionary Management System." Exploring these management approaches and trying them out is very interesting.
4. Laszlo Bock - Work Rules!
"This book is a story of what we've learned over the past 15 years and what you can do to put people first, changing both your life and your leadership."
15 years of lessons in hiring and motivating employees from Laszlo Bock, Vice President of People Operations at Google, are distilled into this book.
Here are a few key takeaways:
Recruiting is paramount
Laszlo Bock advises: if resources are limited, invest in recruiting! Seek out A-Players and don't be afraid to hire slowly to find those who will be the driving force of your team. Also, by hiring exceptional employees, give them the autonomy to shape their work and the company.
Leverage referrals
Hiring through referrals is the best way to find talent. At Google, they systematically optimize referral hiring by asking employees about acquaintances who are experts in their field. They also gather Googlers into groups of 20-30 people for "sourcing jam sessions." They methodically review all their contacts on Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn, while recruiters stand by to immediately contact potential candidates.
Empower subordinates to choose leaders
In traditional companies, interviews for leadership positions are conducted by managers and several colleagues. At Google, employees who may work with the candidate also participate in the interview process. This way, Google demonstrates how the interests of all team members are taken into account, regardless of hierarchy.
Manage the "two tails"
The "two tails" refer to the best and worst-performing employees. The idea is to help underperforming employees learn and grow by exposing them to the best employees.
In conclusion, "Work Rules!" is a book for anyone who works with people. Recruiters will find many useful hacks for candidate sourcing and interviews. HR professionals will learn about people operations and creating a productive and inspiring atmosphere. Business owners will gain insights into the intricacies of hiring and motivating employees. Highly recommended!
5. Dave Logan - Tribal Leadership
Birds flock together, horses form herds, and humans gather into tribes. Together with fellow tribesmen, they achieve more than they could alone. A leader creates the tribe and shapes its culture.
We've created a small infographic to visually depict the levels and characteristics associated with each of them:
.png)
The book is valuable for leaders and top managers who want to create at least a fourth-level culture :) Achieving the fifth level is challenging, but it's something worth striving for!
