Courageous Cultures summary

Picture yourself managing enthusiastic, confident self-starters and team players. Every day, they approach you with novel ideas. They want to tell you about an innovative service that will reach new customers, or a cost-saving device that could revolutionize the delivery of a product. 

Or perhaps they just want to hang up a bulletin board and use it to post birthday greetings – a proven morale booster.

Big or small, new ideas are the lifeblood of a company. However, if managers don’t have the proper culture set up to receive those ideas, the company will squander its most valuable asset: the minds of its employees.

The key message here is: In today’s increasingly automated world, creating a courageous culture is vital for growth.

We’re living through an automation revolution. Robots and computers are taking over much of the routine work that used to fall to us humans. However, computers can’t encourage people to speak up and share their best ideas so the company can thrive and grow. They can’t empathize and coach, connect and create. We still need people for that.

Moreover, in today’s gig economy, many employees no longer want to stick around an office doing a nine-to-five job if they can have more flexibility elsewhere. Studies show that one in three employees get money from contracts and freelance projects – and just under half of college students said they would rather be entrepreneurs than employees.

In this environment, creating a courageous culture has become extra important. This culture can serve as a huge incentive to keep those valuable employees in place when they hear the siren call of freelance work. If staff feel comfortable speaking up in the workplace, it means they also feel heard and appreciated.

If you can create a courageous culture, you’ll be able to attract the kinds of employees who will bring value to your company. You’ll have microinnovators – people who always look for small but effective ways to make things better, easier, or faster. Then, there are the problem solvers – who treat the workplace like their own company and try to find solutions. And, last but not least, your customer advocates are always working to meet clients’ needs.

In the following blinks, you’ll learn how to create a courageous culture that’ll retain these valuable employees – and guide your company to success.