230: Build a Micro Culture

INTRO:

Hey, thanks for tuning in to the Corporate Yogi podcast, I’m your host Julie Zuzek. This pod is YOUR dedicated time for growth, developing practical tools to use with your team and other relationships and to learning deeply about who you are and what makes you tick! Because you are a brilliant and powerful being and I want you to invest more time reflecting on WHO are being, not just WHAT you are doing. Doing is awesome, but BEING, well that is where the magic happens and what makes you truly feel fulfilled. You’re going to love this episode on Micro Cultures and discovering whether or not you have one or maybe even need one. So here’s a look at what you’re going to learn today

1 – In the first segment I’ll explain why you would build one and what it actually is

2 – Then in the second segment I’ll explain the advantages of building one.

3 – In the third segment I want to make a note about loyalty

4 - And in the last segment I’ll explain how to build one

So, get out of your head, into your heart and let’s dive right in, shall we.

SEGMENT 1

I think the best way of describing a micro culture is explaining why you might want to build one. Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong to the rest of your organization? Ever felt like the Black Sheep, or the rebel. Maybe you felt like the one person who constantly viewed things through a different lens. These feelings of not belonging may have led you to define your own team brand, core values, purpose, and vision that feels different from your boss and the greater company. This could have been caused by many different reasons. Your boss doesn’t respect or appreciate you or the work your team does. Or vice versa because you don’t feel like you respect them or their work. It could be because you feel like you value and appreciate things that aren’t really important to them, or they’ve taken actions that you don’t respect. Either way, over time, in order to survive or thrive you and your team have developed your own code of conduct and no longer want to be dictated by the typical company culture and be stuck with values that don’t align with you. This is building a microculture, and it serves two purposes. First, you’re responding to the fact that you don’t agree with what they’re pushing as culture and second, you are organically creating something that fits more with you and your team. It    create the type of environment that allows them to thrive, be the best version of themselves and contribute to creating the most fulfilling environment to do their best work. Whereas the main company may find it difficult to attract an employee or retain an employee, a microculture allows them to thrive, which results in you establishing a very loyal and hardworking environment. In many instances a microculture is established by a team that is disenchanted with their greater company at large, thereby creating an environment whereas a microculture retains them and makes them stick around. Another scenario when a micro culture may be created is through a merger or acquisition. I had this experience years ago when we were acquired by a large corporation. I remember the day when the announcement was made, and the CEO looked me in the eye, then proceeded to scan the rest of the room and said he was excited to work with us because our cultures were exactly the same. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. We had flexible hours and casual work from home culture. He did a 9:00am walk around to make sure that everyone is at their desk for core working hours. It couldn’t have been further from our culture. So we unintentionally kept our company culture and traditions alive to honour this great business we had built, we were creating a microculture. We held on as along as we could, then they eventually just consumed us. That wraps segment 1 on explaining what a micro culture is.