A roadmap can serve many purposes. It can show you how to get from where you are to where you want to be, it can tell you how long it will take to get from one place to another, it can show you the obstacles or steps required to get there.
It doesn’t always have to be about your physical location though – a roadmap is simply a plan of action to help you navigate your journey.
When it comes to navigating the culture of your company a roadmap is essential. Improving your company’s culture is no different than trying to get from one side of the country to the other. Recognizing where you want your culture to be is important but recognizing where you are now is often more challenging. If you know you want to get from point A to point B in you first have to establish point A then create your roadmap.
The Cultural Roadmap is your baseline that starts with a good look in the mirror and helps you to form a unified vision within your company of what is most important to everyone. That vision is different for every company. Whether it’s quality, profit, customer satisfaction or company sales growth or all of the above; a winning culture is created from within on a day to day basis.
Once you identify your vision of the culture, you then need to identify how your culture plays a role in your success. This will include what is holding you back and what obstacles you must overcome to get where you want to be. Those obstacles can range in scope and will depend on the people and culture currently in place. Once everyone can see the path ahead, they are able to pull together towards the common goal and people begin to think about the end result. Accountability, performance, teamwork, creativity and ownership all start to take form and pave the way to your goals.
On your roadmap there will be the many twists and turns, we are talking about people after all. Without a team effort towards improvements the trip can sometimes be delayed.
Once goals are on your way your employees are going to encounter obstacles, and you will need to find a way to clear the path for them. You will need to be able to identify what’s holding them back? What’s slowing them down? How can you clear the path for them so they can get their job done more efficiently? Your roadmap must include everyone in the company. Success will demand teamwork, cooperation and collaboration and don’t forget that you and everyone else will expect to be able to see some results. So tracking your progress will be key.
Setting goals is great! Having the employees identify the keys to obtaining the goals and then tracking them is even better!
The collaboration required to create shared goals will create a sense of worth within each department. Every team member or employee will understand their role and what is expected of them. Letting them track their own key measures can also empower them to own their piece of the plan and will create a sense of trust within the company that allows the employees to take pride in their successes and recover from their failures.
Communication, Communication, Communication!
You hear it in sports all the time. The workplace is no different. Without communication your will not succeed! Whether it’s communicating exceptions or desired behavior or improvements or anything important to your culture, communication is the secret sauce. Without it your employees will be lost, regardless of what map you use. It can be daily, weekly or monthly meetings or even a scoreboard showing the company’s results. Communication should be your top priority. It’s not always easy but it is always important.
Last but not least, is Motivation. Motivating your team is integral, and it has to be tailored to the person. Some people just want recognition, some people are motivated by money and some are motivated to feel like they are contributing to the success of the company. This recognition or reward should be constant throughout the process. When others see the employees around them meeting goals and being recognized or rewarded it can become contagious and even motivational for them to do better. A little competition never hurt, right?
Your roadmap is your key to success. Trying to navigate your company culture without a plan is like bowling through a curtain. You may have an idea of where the pins are, but you probably aren’t going to knock them all down if you can’t see the head pin.
Happy Travels!