In an interesting article by the Washington Post (What you can learn from Southwest Airlines’ culture) Micah Solomon addresses lessons about organizational culture and why culture matters. The article illustrates these lessons using Southwest Airlines as an example. To summarize, culture matters because…

• Culture creates a consistently positive customer experience
• The impact of culture is amplified by social media
• A strong culture helps organizations manage constant change

The author then outlines the following steps to create a strong culture:

• Articulate your philosophy
• Elaborate with a statement of core values
• Make philosophy and values inspirational to capture the hearts of the employees
• Constantly reinforce commitment to values, not just at the annual company picnic
• Make the philosophy and values visual
• Make them a part of the orientation process
• Reinforce them through training, hiring, and discipline practices

These are great ideas, but what can leaders do? Considering Herb Kelleher’s role in shaping Southwest’s culture, one might think that these lessons only apply to CEOs or top leaders. Leaders at any level whether they are aware of it or not influence and shape culture. So, what can leaders do? Here are three simple suggestions any leader can do today.

1. Accept the responsibility as a culture shaper. This requires that a leader looks beyond the daily schedule, the budgets, the meetings, the strategies, and everything they are officially responsible for. They need to become aware of how their behavior influences others.
2. Internalize the corporate philosophy  and values. Leaders must become believers first to be able to convert others. Some leaders might need to ‘translate’ company philosophy and values to make them more relevant and real to their people. But for people to adopt new cultural values, leaders’ behavior must reflect these values.
3. Be consistent and visible. Plaques, posters, frames, and other cultural artifacts become effective symbols of culture only when leader’s behavior is consistent with the cultural values, predictable, and visible. Leaders who cannot be consistent, may not be in the right organization. People watch what leaders do and their behavior in many ways is a reflection of their leader’s behavior.

Finally…don’t wait! The common mistake leaders make is to wait for someone else to lead in shaping culture. It’s not just the CEO’s job. Anyone can make a difference in creating and reinforcing a strong culture, even if it’s only within one’s own circle of influence. Effective leaders create strong and effective cultures for their teams and their organizations. In turn, strong cultures can contribute to positive business outcomes.