As highlighted throughout the semester, company culture is vital not only for retaining top talent and bolstering company morale, but also for enabling a company to stick to its core competencies and continue to create products that follow the company vision.
I would like to build a culture that gives members of the organization a level of creative freedom to pursue their own ideas and solutions, a sense of security in regards to risk-taking, and a platform to give criticisms and critiques in regards to company decisions/performance safely.
Giving the members of my organization an adequate amount of freedom to pursue their own solutions can allow the organization to tap into their individual experiences and ideas that may not have manifested otherwise. I also think that it would help to give members a sense of meaning when they work. It would also be optimal if there was some sense of security when it comes to taking risks. Oftentimes, some good decisions are walled off behind a fear of repercussions due to taking a risk. If there was some leeway for pursuing risky behavior, members may be willing to try new ideas that may turn out to be immensely beneficial. Finally, by allowing members to criticize or question any crucial decisions made by their peers or even management, the transparency of the organization is enhanced, and can enable more buy-in for another member’s ideas, which helps to improve morale.
All of these can be abused, however. Although there should be some level of freedom to pursue different solutions, they have to be defendable, and should still require some group consensus; otherwise there is a risk of wasting resources and lack of accountability. There should also be discretion while taking risks, as an organization’s resources are limited and unnecessary risks should still be avoided. Finally, encouraging debate on every single issue can also lead to a lot of wasted time. Members should use discretion when disputing others’ decisions or ideas.
