10 Things Leaders Can Do To Improve An Unhealthy Culture

Culture eats strategy for breakfast.  Culture eats personnel for lunch.  Culture eats resources for dinner.  Culture is everything when it comes to the success of an organization.  

From 1989 to 1992 the New York Yankees were arguably the worst organization in sports.  The were at the bottom of the baseball standings.  Attendance had dropped 35%.  The minor league system had been stripped of talent because of bad trades.  Finally, their owner George Steinbrenner had been banned from the sport.

But with Gene Michael and Brian Cashman hired to run the team’s front office, some shrewd trades and drafts, and finally the hiring of 35-year-old manager Buck Showalter in 1992, things were changing.  Showalter made his top priority the changing of the Yankees culture.

In his incredible new book, Chumps to Champs: How the Worst Teams in Yankees History Led to The 90’s Dynasty, author Bill Pennington chronicles Showalter’s culture-changing moves.  You can purchase the book HERE or on the image provided.

The following are 10 Things Leaders Can Do To Improve An Unhealthy Culture we learn from former Yankees manager Buck Showalter:

1. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Obsess Over Small Details – You must make a BIG deal over every little thing.Cashman remembered Showalter became obsessed with making every aspect of the Yankees’ facilities first rate.
2. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Improve Your Team’s Daily Experience – Cashman said, “So Buck had us completely renovate the Yankee Stadium home clubhouse – new sound system, new TVs and couches.  We fixed up the players’ lounge.”
3. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Give Your Team Better Tools To Work With – Cashman added, “We upgraded the batting cage under the grandstand.”
4. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Improve The Employee Perks – He continued, “We improved the players’ parking lot.”
5. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Make Your Team Want To Come To Work EARLY – Cashman also said, “We focused on the best food for the players.”  Showalter pointed out, “Instead of having lunch away from the park and eating before they get here, maybe they’ll get here, have lunch in the clubhouse and get here even earlier.”
6. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Have Your Team Spend Relational Time With Each Other – Pennington observed winning teams have great chemistry.  Showalter did a myriad of things to improve the relational dynamics of the team.  Showalter was not a fan of players fraternizing with the other team prior to games.  He said, “There are 24 other guys on your team.  Something is wrong with you if you have to go to the other side of the field to find a friend to talk to before the game.”
7. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Care About Your Employees’ Families – Cashman remembered Buck saying, “if you make each player’s wife, significant other or family members happy, you will make the player happy.”  Showalter wanted a deluxe family room for the wives and children.
8. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Hire Top Talent – You hire the culture you want.In 1992, managers were not thinking about the emotional well-being of players’ families.  This was a strategic move to also attract quality free agents.  Showalter said, “How can we differentiate ourselves?  Let’s pay more attention to the off-the-field things.”
9. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Leaders Must Spend Relational Time With Their Teams – If you want the employees to spend time together, leaders must set the example.  Glenn Sherlock, the team’s catching instructor said, “Buck spent a lot of time with the players, and he encouraged the coaches to as well.  Trying to have a tight-knit group was Buck’s goal.”
10. To Improve An Unhealthy Culture Build Up The Self-Image Of Every Employee And Protect Their Reputations – Showalter forbid the team’s scoreboard operator from showing Yankee errors or bad plays.  He said, “It should be about the team not one player’s missteps.  All teams make mistakes.”

What is one thing you learned from the list above which will help you improve team culture?

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