How Leaders Shape Team Culture

And why I invented Leader Lines to inspire the shared aspirations of my teams.

Leaders shape team culture in many ways: through their hiring, their communications, policy, and the way they interact with others. And let's face it, people take their cues from the boss.

But as leaders, if all we do is expect team members to watch and learn with nothing else to guide them, then we're pretty much asking them to read our minds. We should and can do better.

In a prior post on building team culture, I shared an approach that I invented with what I call Leader Lines.

A Leader Line is a short, clear, and powerful statement that describes who we are, how we act, and our shared aspirations as a team. It's like a short elevator pitch.

These are real examples of Leader Lines that I've used to inspire a shared vision and build the culture of my teams:

▶︎ We are called to answer the essential questions of our time.
▶︎ We are critical thinkers and thought leaders.
▶︎ We lead the change we want to see.

Here are three new Leader Lines to share with you:

▶︎ We are brave. We speak up and are direct. We call it like it is.
▶︎ We assume positive intent.
▶︎ We believe that our diversity is a collective superpower.

Let’s take it one step further. Even though these are short and to the point, there's still room for interpretation. Let's take the first one:

▶︎ We are brave. We speak up and are direct. We call it like it is.

We can fill in some of the space that this statement leaves open. To do that, I pair each Leader Line with a supporting statement:

▶︎▶︎ We find healthy, affirming, and productive ways to move forward with relentless honesty about our work and its value to customers, consumers, and stakeholders. We professionally and respectfully identify challenges and propose solutions to improve our products, processes, and ourselves.

Now the idea is more complete. We start to understand not only the what, but the how. In other words, the way we act on this part of our journey together.

Here's another Leader Line paired with a supporting statement:

▶︎ We believe that our diversity is a collective superpower.

▶︎▶︎ We intentionally solicit and consider each other's points of view, beliefs, perceptions, feelings, and contributions. We believe this creates stronger bonds between us and that we'll build better products and experiences when the full range of our individual backgrounds, situations, points of view, talents, and life experiences are integrated into our work.

Pairing each Leader Line with a supporting statement provides specific guidance on the what, the why, and the how.

As a people leader, I know that the success of the team begins with me, and I've found that Leader Lines are a straightforward, direct, and actionable way to start building culture in my teams. And best of all, they describe the type of team that I want to work in too.

#leadership #teamsuccess #peopleleader #buildingteams #buildingculture #culturematters #ericduell #leaderlines