49ers Credit ‘Culture’ to NFC Championship Win

The San Francisco 49ers football team was interviewed after their dominating win, which secured them a spot in the upcoming Super Bowl.  When asked, “What do you attribute this to?” the owner said, “These guys pull together as a team – it’s our culture.”

Music to my ears: It’s our culture.  What is the definition of culture?  It’s ‘how we do things here.’  If you want to win – as a company, a team, a partnership – you can’t leave culture to chance.  You must be deliberate about building a culture that supports you winning.

In the case of the 49ers, they understand that in order to win a championship, players must have each other’s backs and pull together as a team, so that’s what they built.  Kudos to their leaders for getting this.  Many managers think they can hire a handful of star players and win; but it doesn’t work that way.

You can have all the star players – or team members – in the world, but if you put them in a dysfunctional culture you will not win.  Why?  Because dysfunctional environments do not enable people to give you their best.  Dysfunctional environments chip away at people’s spirits and willingness to give you their all.  And that, my friends, will never lead to a W.

WHAT CAN I DO, JILL?  Get real about your culture.  Conduct an Employee Engagement Survey to find out what areas need to be addressed and then put a strategic plan in place to improve.  Everyone wants to be on a winning team – everyone.  Do yourself, your employees, your shareholders, and your customers a favor by building a culture that supports all of you  winning.  You’ve got this!