In 1924, 3M’s then chairman and CEO, William L. McKnight, observed, “If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.” Organizations with the highest percentage of positively and productively engaged workers have a culture within which personal growth and professional development are most likely to thrive. Obvious? Apparently not.

Here is a brief excerpt from an article by Susan Mazza for Halogen Software’s TalentSpace blog. To read the complete article, check out others, learn more about the firm, and sign up for email alerts, please click here.

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While the subject of employee engagement, or lack thereof, continues to get a lot of attention these days, consider that engagement is a product of your organization’s culture.

Culture drives the everyday experience of employees, because it drives the actions and decisions of their leaders.

In an article in Forbes magazine titled “Culture: Why It’s The Hottest Topic In Business Today,” Josh Berlin makes the case for why “companies that focus on culture are becoming icons for job seekers.” The first point he uses to back up this assertion is:

“Fortune’s Best Companies happen to be many of the same companies listed in Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work” and also LinkedIn’s “Most In-Demand Employers.” This shows that companies with strong, positive cultures (Fortune and Glass door’s list is based on employee surveys) are now the most in-demand. So the ‘culture winners’ are winning bigger.”

The bottom line is, if you want to engage and retain the best employees, tending to your culture is a leadership imperative.

Of course, that’s easy to say, but often hard to do, especially when you’re just one leader who believes culture is key among many other leaders who may not.

So how can one leader impact the culture of their organization, with or without the support of those alongside or even above them on the corporate ladder?

You can begin by focusing on the culture you’re creating with those you most directly lead.

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She then explains HOW.

Here is a direct link to the complete article.

CEO of Clarus Works, Susan Mazza is a business coach and motivational speaker who works with leaders and their teams to transform their performance, relationships and work environment from acceptable to exceptional. For the Halogen blog, Susan shares how leaders can best serve their talented workforce (or workforce talent), and ignite and sustain high performance through exceptional leadership. Named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders by Trust Across America/Trust Around the World in 2013/2015, Susan co-authored The Character-Based Leader and is the founder/author of the highly acclaimed blog RandomActsofLeadership.com.