Backbone: The organization's core that fosters a strong Leadership Culture

The backbone, also known as the spinal or vertebral column, is responsible for providing structural support, protection, mobility, and flexibility, representing the overall body movement and stability. Nevertheless, a minor joint injury may significantly compromise the body's performance. Similarly, it can occur in an organization without a leadership culture — it’s about to understanding the value of people.

Backbone is the core, the base that guarantees an execution-driven workplace into a high-wellness, high-performance, successful team. A true commitment to fuel, energize, and align teams to achieve extraordinary results. This is how backbone transforms organizations into a strong leadership culture. 

What core principles contribute to cultivating a company's backbone? Purpose, Values, Strategy, and Brand.  Let’s explore these concepts more in depth. 

1. Purpose: As a Dream

A business purpose is powerful; it is the affirmation of your company's beliefs; the foundation on which your company builds its dreams and vision. Purpose describes why a company exists, beyond making a profit. What goals does your organization pursue?  What beliefs does your organization hold?  A message that must be communicated effectively throughout your organization — it should fuel your people on each aisle in your office, like an air freshener. Think about this: Imagine that you’re visiting the Tic Tac company, and as soon as you make an entry to the building, you're greeted by a fresh mint scent. What feeling does that experience communicate? This example illustrates how the company's purpose can energize both its employees and its business relationships.

Actually, a Harvard Business Impact study reveals that 90% of global employees and executives said that work should bring a sense of purpose to their lives. Embracing and actively living a company's purpose is essential for attracting, developing, and retain top talent.

2. Values: As a Personality

Values in an organization represent its personality, which must be actively and vividly reflected in the company's actions as well as its people's qualities. For example, consider your experience visiting a Starbucks coffee shop and think about your interaction with their employees; they possess unique values. This observation highlights their company culture.

To cultivate a strong company backbone, core values such as Passion, Communication, Diversity, Integrity, Collaboration, and Respect must be present in an organization that fosters velocity and innovation, to achieve an Execution-driven leadership culture.  However, as previously mentioned, this is something that you continually need to work on and reinforce. A great and creative way to improve it is to measure it through a Company Climate Survey, Employee Performance Evaluation, and Grassroots meeting. For instance, let's use one of my favorite core values: Passion. And meditate on the following question: Do I express passion through my actions, interactions, and decisions with my team, colleagues, business relations, and business strategy?

As John Maxwell asserted: “Passion gives two vital leadership characteristics: energy and credibility. When you love what you do and do what you love, others find it inspiring”.  Remember this: How many people do you know who became successful doing something that they hate? Vision without passion is merely a picture without possibilities.

We cannot expect to truly connect with others if we don’t live what we communicate.  When you speak, do you have passion?  If you want to create a leadership culture, hire people who feel passionate about their job. Passion is a transformative energy that inspires and is contagious to all around.

“Passion gives two vital leadership characteristics: energy and credibility. When you love what you do and do what you love, others find it inspiring.  How many people do you know who became successful doing something that they hate? Vision without passion is merely a picture without possibilities”.

3. Strategy: As a Compass

Indeed, a strategy functions like a navigation compass, a tool designed to indicate direction. However, for an organization to successfully execute its strategy, it demands a crucial core value: Communication, the bridge between purpose (vision/dream) and strategy (actions). Because without communication, you travel alone.

The communication (connecting) in an organization can make you or break you. Remember, the best leaders are always excellent connectors: connecting is key! So, for your strategy, ensure that you include your people (as an asset), innovation (to stay competitive), and consider the future (for expansion)—a powerful accomplishment of a dream.

In short, Dream, Compass, and Communication, like a chain reaction, are the tactical actions that guarantee sustainable business growth.

4. Brand: As a Company heart

What makes a brand a “Love Brand”? What makes some brands inspiring? Do you remember the concept of “lovemark” by Kevin Roberts? A marketing concept that emphasizes the idea that love-driven brands earn loyalty through mystery, sensuality, and intimacy.

Indeed, a love brand captivates your mind and heart, creating an intimate, emotional connection that becomes a part of your life.

As already mentioned, the backbone is responsible for providing structural support. So, to build a brand for the future, you must first cultivate a strong connection, a strong relationship with your internal clients: your employees. Let them fall in love with your brand.  Profound depth in this concept: To connect with your people, use your ears (entice them).  And then, before selling something, touch your customer's heart. That’s how you build a brand with transcendence, a "lovemark".

In short, prioritizing in your company's backbone sowed the seeds for a strong leadership culture that promotes an execution-driven workplace. A company with legacy; a company with heart.

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Ready to build your Backbone?

Marca Marketing Agency offers a Backbone consultancy and workshop to help your team establish an execution discipline workplace. Let’s do this now!