Engaged Leaders Make Ideal Ambassadors for Your Organization’s Corporate Culture

Leaders in corporate culture today are embracing a more engaged, hands-on approach to building and sustaining high-performance cultures. They’re moving away from top-down, command and control styles and toward a more present, interactive, and collaborative approach that sees them step up as ambassadors for the organization’s purpose and culture.

Prioritizing engaged, accessible leadership was one of the key themes highlighted by 2023 Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures award nominees in their submissions to the program.  Here are three ways high-performance leaders are stepping up to be champions for their organization’s corporate culture:

1. Embracing transparency

The benefits of transparency are significant – it limits ambiguity and uncertainty, increases trust (in leaders and the organization), supports engagement, and helps establish a sense of community and commitment across the organization.

Transparent leaders understand: how best to communicate with their teams and leverage multiple channels to ensure clear and timely information sharing; how to be authentic and empathetic in their interactions, especially when communicating difficult information; and how to ensure employees across all levels of the organization understand what’s happening as well as their role in the success of both individual projects and the company as a whole.

2. Encouraging two-way communication

Taking the time to listen and collect feedback is just as important as ensuring clear, transparent communications. Engaged leaders take advantage of both formal and informal opportunities for connecting with employees – from pulse surveys and performance reviews, to town halls and meet-and-greet events like “Coffee with the CEO”.

Closing the loop is key. Engaged leaders know that communicating back about what they’ve heard, and if/how the organization can action feedback, goes a long way to building a culture of trust and engagement.

3. Championing collaboration and connection

Now more than ever, organizations are looking for high performers who subscribe to a servant leader approach. These hands-on leaders embrace a people-first style that lends itself to building and sustaining a collaborative work environment, a connection to purpose, and a commitment to equality and inclusion. The core of this approach is a high level of emotional intelligence that allows them to build connections with their team members and support both individual and organizational growth objectives.

Job-relevant skills and knowledge are still key when it comes to high-performance leadership, but engaged leaders who can bring human skills like empathy, listening, and collaboration to the table are in demand. Identifying these skills in leaders is something that many organizations can find challenging. At Waterstone, we use a series of assessment tools and directed reference checks to help organizations uncover behavioural patterns that speak to the unique gifts, resiliencies, motivators and leadership potential of candidates (and existing leaders). These not only help match the right candidate with the right job, but they can also be used throughout the candidate’s lifecycle to elevate their skills and aptitudes – from on-boarding and driving engagement, to improving performance and communication, and motivating the team.

For more than 20 years, our culture and executive search experts have been inspiring organizations across Canada and the United States to build high-performance teams and cultures that drive growth and success.  To learn more about the key themes from the 2023 Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures award winners, and how Waterstone’s team of culture experts can help assess and develop the skills and behaviours of your leader and teams to help drive performance and success, schedule a meeting today.