In this month's episode, Ryan Eaton welcomes Joey Havens, author of Leading with Significance. Joey is the current Managing Partner for Strategic Growth at HORNE.
Havens discusses building company culture in his book and on this podcast. He explains how organizations can avoid burnout, resolve conflicts, and improve as a team. Even though Havens lands in the accounting realm, he provides a bird’s-eye view of principles every insurance leader should know.
Culture Matters
In order to lead a company culture successfully, Havens stresses the importance of putting a leadership team behind it. The culture of an organization is not only its values and beliefs but also its actions and behaviors. As Joey continues, he explains why a “good” culture is not good enough.
According to Joey, it takes a leader to articulate a vision and a leadership team to clarify whom the organization will become. It is important for an organization to have a clear vision, and for its leadership team to be fully committed to achieving that vision.Havens states that to create a magnetic culture it takes a great deal of courage and vulnerability to acknowledge that more can be done. A strong leadership that continuously believes in the good of people is an important aspect of creating a magnetic culture.
Culture is the soul of your organization. It is really who you are.
Unique Flexibility
Modern organizations recognize that work-life flexibility is essential to the development of a thriving, productive culture. Even though the terms are often used synonymously, they don't always mean the same thing. Workplace flexibility means employees can be productive regardless of where or when they work.
It is important to note that Havens states flexibility is challenging. The reason for this is that the flexibility you need in your culture, one that really attracts and holds people, must be unique to each person.
Communication, trust, and commitment are essential for flexibility, according to Joey. A company should communicate its definition of flexibility to its employees. Is it a privilege or a right? If an employee is flexing, will he or she be available when a need arises?
Flexibility is hard, but you must trust people to perform as expected.
In Conclusion
A leader's role is crucial because it inspires and motivates others to make positive changes in the world. The leader creates a vision that the leadership uses to develop a plan of action and build a strong culture within the organization. This leads to incredible feats being accomplished together as a result of their guidance.
Assessing current capabilities, identifying strengths, and setting future goals is a practical first step toward becoming a more agile organization, but this process does not have to be perfect.
It is the authenticity and transparency that do most of the work, and cultural flexibility is an ongoing process rather than an endpoint. The ability of employers to handle disruptions is enhanced by their ability to adapt and improve.
What’s Next
Be sure to tune into next month’s episode as we continue our discussion with James Benham, CEO & Co-found of JBKnowledge.
Connect
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What's Next
Make sure to catch our next month's episode as we explore further in conversation with Chad Hogan from Quotit. We'll be exploring the fascinating impact of artificial intelligence on the business landscape.
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Stay updated on all ILP episodes by following us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram for news and upcoming episodes.
Leave a Review
If this podcast has made you a better leader, you can help share it by leaving a quick Apple Podcast review. You can visit Apple Podcasts Insurance Leadership Podcast on your iOS device and then go to the “Reviews” section. There, you can leave a star rating or click on “Write a review” to share what you learned from this podcast.
Thank you for sharing!