In this article, we’ll explore some ways to positively influence your company culture and champion better-than-best practice beyond your immediate team.
In doing so, you’ll be able to start building a network of internal allies, flex your leadership skills and improve your working environment for everyone’s benefit.
Whilst policies are not the be all and end all, they’re not a ‘nice to have’ either. Say you have someone in your team who experiences a bereavement - as a manager, you might be the first person they confide in. Without clarity on what compassionate leave is available, you’re left scrambling and your team member is sent on a wild goose HR chase trying to understand their entitlements at potentially one of the worst times of their life.
If managers have no playbook for supporting a team member through difficult situations, it can also lead to inequitable treatment across an organisation. So, if you spot a gap, speak to your People team or leadership and explain what you need.
When you share, take the time to describe the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’ and illustrate the impact you’ve observed over time - and stay open to builds and feedback. After all, different people have different management styles and there’s always something to be learnt from discussion with your peers.
This type of sharing is always something I’ve been deeply grateful for as a People leader. After all, if a particular practice already has buy-in and has been tested successfully, it’s an easy win for everyone.
So when you discover a game-changing resource - a tyllr script, a book stacked with genuinely useful advice or a Ted talk that really spoke to you - share it!
Not only can doing so trigger interesting conversations, but personal recommendations are a gift. In a sea of endless advice, they can help your peers cut through the noise - after all not all advice is directly applicable to your particular context.
Sharing your growth journey can feel like a vulnerable thing to do, but doing so encourages a culture of learning that can help everyone gain new perspectives and feel more confident.
On the flip side, managers are often the last to have input on wider strategic changes that might deeply impact their function. This can put them in a difficult position if they see challenges that others don’t.
Although tough decisions do of course need to be made within businesses, if you’re a manager that is being called upon to explain and defend them to your team, it’s important that as a bare minimum, you understand the context.
It’s also important to speak up if you see decisions that don’t align with your own or the organisation's values. Leaders are far from immune from making short-termist decisions under pressure, and it’s at times like this when values tend to be tested.
In fact, the opposite is true - not only do you need others more than ever as you’re measured on performance of the team as a whole, but you also have a duty as a manager to consciously include others.
On a day to day level, this means questioning what voices are in the rooms you’re now able to access.
It’s also about looking for opportunities to give your team a platform to showcase their work and share their ideas. Not only will this help your team further their careers as individuals, it’ll also increase the quality of decision making across the organisation.
So there you have it - five ways to have intentional impact beyond your immediate team. Although being a manager can feel lonely at times, hopefully these tips have also demonstrated the tremendous value in finding allies and building community with those around you.
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