What Is Your Team's Culture?

People talk about organizational culture (sometimes just “risk culture”), but too few examine the culture of their own team.

As the leader of internal audit practitioners, I was very conscious of how my team behaved and the “culture” I had built that led to that behavior.

Qualities I Looked for in a Team Member

These are just some of the attributes I encouraged, which I would now (but didn’t then) think of as the team’s culture:

• Customer focus. We were committed to helping our customers in management and on the board lead the organization to success. I discouraged any desire simply to find fault. A clean audit report was something to celebrate.
• Partnership. In addition to the assurance we provided on the risks that mattered, we worked with management to ensure they had the best possible processes, systems, organization and people. When there was an opportunity to upgrade them, we shared our advice and insights as we talked openly and constructively about how to make the right changes. We listened with an open mind. We got to know our customers.
• Business focused. We might understand what were considered “best practices” or what had worked for others. We might understand what theory dictated. But we tried to understand the business and its needs as we assessed operations, their risks and controls, and worked with management to ensure quality and efficiency. I encouraged my team to get out into the field and talk (actually, to listen more than talk) to both management and the employees. We needed to understand the business, its needs and its challenges. Only then could we make informed and intelligent assessments and give practical advice. Only then would we have the insights that management and the board value highly.
• Curious and imaginative. We sought to learn all the time and challenge established paradigms. How can we do our job better, faster? How can management do theirs better and faster? We learned and played with new toys, from business analytics to Lean Six Sigma to facilitated risk workshops.
• A team. We talked to and got to know each other. Lifelong friendships were established that helped the team as a whole perform at a higher level. We enjoyed working with each other. From time to time there would be conflicts and my job was to sort them out. Sometimes one or more had to leave the team so it would remain a team. Friction is the enemy of quality and efficiency.
• Efficient. We stopped work when we had done enough. We didn’t do anything just because a standard or framework said we should. We did what added value to our customers.
• Risk-takers. We worked on areas, processes, etc. where we had no experience — because we believed in ourselves and our abilities. We listened and got help when we needed it. We also resisted the temptation to do more than was necessary to form our opinion — reducing the risk if we were challenged.
• Fulfilled. We enjoyed our work, not least because it was appreciated by our customers, but also because it was challenging and we were growing. Others told us that ours was the only team that seemed to be having fun at work.
• Communicators. We told people what we were going to do, did it, told them when it was changing, talked to them immediately when we found something, and talked (and listened) to them about what the results meant. We remembered that communication is a two-way street. We talked first and wrote fourth.
• Leaders. Our role as auditors meant that many looked to us for ideas, reassurance and even (in a few cases) direction. We acted responsibility, knowing that some would be reluctant to share their views when they disagreed with us, taking our recommendations as orders and resorting later to: “the auditors told us to do it.”
• Agile and flexible. We recognized that risks and business conditions changed all the time and we had to adapt. Not only were we ready to change what we had planned to do, but we were constantly surveying the situation and looking to see if we needed to change our plans.
• Available. Management and even junior staff could come to us, in confidence if needed, and share their concerns. Where we could, we helped. For example, we helped people in Singapore contact the right people in the corporate offices in California.
• Learning and growing. We all grew as a result of learning about the business, working closely with management, and how we could not only help others improve but improve ourselves. We created opportunities for our own career progression.
• Empowered and trusted. I hired good people, gave them general directions if they needed them, and then got out of their way. I trusted them when it came to the form and level of testing they needed to perform. My review varied depending on their level of experience and the seriousness of the issues identified. I didn’t review in depth the work of people I trusted to do it well.

I am sure there was more, but these are what come to mind looking back.

What Behaviors Do You Want to See From Your Team?

It didn’t matter whether I had a team of one, three, 12 or 50. The team needed to perform with quality and efficiency as a team, exhibiting the above attributes.

Some might add attributes like loyalty, hard-working, dedicated and more. But I see these as inevitably following from the ones I have listed above.

When a team is happy, challenged, growing and appreciating the environment in which they worked, they are loyal, hard-working and dedicated.

If I was to have the team culture I desired, I had to live and breathe it myself.

I had to be the example I wanted them to follow. I hope I was.

My advice

1. Define the culture and behaviors you want from your team.
2. Examine yourself honestly, getting trusted feedback as needed. Are you the example your team needs?
3. Take actions as needed, even if this means letting high performers go. I have had high performers, even team leaders, who had serious negative impacts on team performance.
4. Consider what you are doing to promote and ensure the culture and behaviors you desire.
5. Continuously self-examine and assess your team. Are improvements needed?

I welcome your feedback.

Learn how you can join our contributor community.