In the movie Gladiator, Russell Crowe playing Maximus, the leader of the Roman army in the 2nd century, yells to his soldiers before battle, "Strength and Honor." Each soldier then repeats his message back to him. Immediately after saying those words, the soldier instinctively straightens his posture and focuses his eyes forward. 

What message did he share with his soldiers? The soldiers' body language responded to the words to prepare for battle. At the end of a session in my workshops, I conclude the time with a ritual where everyone claps their hands together and yells, "Whoosh." 

I tell everyone that the action will lock in the lessons they learned and clear their mind for the next lesson. The mental connection with the ritual hopefully aids in memory retention as we repeat the action. The "whoosh" ritual is also an important method for me to convey the culture of my company. In what ways are you communicating the culture in your organization?

Your core values

One of the core values of my company, ActionCOACH, is education, which ties in nicely with the "whoosh" ritual. We also have 13 other points of culture that bind all the other business coaches together in our conduct and relationships with others. Having the points of culture defined is much more than paying lip service to some written words. Actions and behavior need to back up the words. 

If you do not have your culture points (core values) defined and written down, then as a leader, you should do this immediately. When choosing your core values, be sure that you are congruent with those values and are living up to them yourself. Many times, the leader expects everyone else to hold to the company values, but he or she is actually the emperor without any clothes. Selecting your top five to eight values can be daunting, too because there is over 150 positive values such as integrity, compassion, and optimism.  Rank your top values in order and know your reasons why they are ordered in such a way. When faced with a difficult decision, your top value should reign above your other values.

Rules of the game

Your next step in taking a proactive charge to your company's culture is to begin writing out rules of the game for each value. As an example, integrity may mean something completely different in a finance role versus a customer service role. In the finance role, the rule of the game for integrity could be "that all revenue is recognized at appropriate times according to GAAP."  In a customer service role, the rule of the game could be "the customer will be informed immediately when any broken agreement is recognized".  

Your rules of the game become a written code of conduct so that the people in your organization will behave consistently in your culture. You also want to have methods of communication defined in the event that a teammate breaks a rule. Each team member should be empowered to uphold the values and have a way to hold each other accountable. The power of a defined culture is only as good as it is adopted by the people in it.  

Repetition and rituals

There is a principle that states, "It takes 28 days of performing a task to make it a habit."  In a lot of ways this principle holds true because the brain can be distracted by many new ideas and problems. In leading a culture, the values must be expressed and practiced on a consistent basis. 

Having rituals and traditions in your business is a powerful way to establish the culture.  Another ritual that we have within ActionCOACH is the W.I.F.L.E., which stands for "What I Feel Like Expressing." At the beginning of meetings, I start each meeting with a W.I.F.L.E. to encourage our value of open and honest communication. 

During a W.I.F.L.E., each person is given the floor to speak what is on their mind, and they can express whatever they feel without interruption and criticism from others. The W.I.F.L.E. encourages people to be honest with each other and feel that their concerns and opinions are being heard. In many cases, disagreements can be avoided because teammates understand where each other is coming from in advance of misunderstandings.  

As the leader, the culture that you establish on your team is your responsibility. You have the power to be proactive and control the culture. If you do not take action to set the culture, one will be set for you by an informal leader on your team. Step up and write down the values that are important to you, have your team create rules of the game, and then design some rituals to adopt your culture.  

Brian Blomgren is the owner of Atlanta's ActionCOACH, a business coaching and training company. Brian's professional experience includes work with McKesson and HBO in addition to owning and investing in several independent business ventures. Brian has an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Emory's Goizueta School of Business. Brian specializes is helping small and mid-sized businesses become more productive and successful.