There are many lessons that businesses will take from traversing through the choppy waters of the era of the coronavirus pandemic. However, a significant takeaway from this time is the importance that culture plays in the evolution of developing an organization that can flourish. Ben Horowitz, Co-Founder of Andreesen Horowitz, one of the most successful venture capital firms in Silicon Valley explores through his landmark book, What You Do Is Who You Are: How To Create Your Business Culture poses critical questions surrounding the value of culture and how leadership fosters their ability to construct and sustain the desired set of principles that not only shape culture but represent who they are, and what they want. By providing an existential framework, leaders are given a greater ability to solve problems for both the present and future furthering mechanisms for success.
Horowitz outlines leadership and culture building through the lens of historical figures to illustrate how these models of power are emblematic in defining the modern-day elements of the corporate culture. While discussing how each organization should define their brand of culture to meet their unique needs, Horowitz also stresses that there are universal truths that all organizations should subscribe too. Horowitz writes “The most important element of any corporate culture is that people care. They care about the quality of their work, they care about the mission, they care about good citizens.” In the post-Covid-19 era, the notion of caring should be a critical driver in not only defining corporate culture but the virtues that underly why their employees come to work every day. Horowitz writes about the samurai code of bushido or the way of the warrior, which is defined by eight virtues: justice, courage, honor, loyalty, benevolence, politeness, self-control, and sincerity. Corporate leaders should embrace these ideas and apply them to not only make culture last but to identify a procedure that allows organizations to continually refine these techniques over time and interweave them into the very fabric of the culture of an organization.
The sensitivity to these ideals of compassion must not go unnoticed. In this post-pandemic world, one of the most important virtues great leaders can possess is the ability to establish a robust corporate culture that cares about its employees and view mental health as one of the core tenants of a strong organizational structure for both the present and future. But much like the samurai code of the bushido, it is the action that dictates the power of virtue. In an age where remote work is becoming a more ever-present reality and the culture of work is changing at a rapid pace, leadership must keep in stride with these shifting cycles to stay ahead of the curve. Leadership cannot be passive, but rather they must be active participants in planting the seeds for a vibrant business philosophy.
Corporate Leaders must begin with two simple questions, one, how will mental health protocols impact the productivity of their workforce, and two, what best practices do the organization need to champion these virtues and exhibit a culture of growth? The answers to these questions are nuanced and complex, however, what they do offer is a glimpse into how companies can develop strategies that enhance diversity and inclusion and maintain a person-centric approach in a growing digital economy. Using mental health as a mechanism for growth offers employees a feeling of belonging. It is also a statement that that magnifies the very essence of the samurai code creating a link between how meaning is intertwined with the work one does.
As we close out the end of May marking Mental Health Awareness month it is important to realize that in a post-pandemic world this highlights the need to continue forward and push our basic understanding that mental health is a fundamental enterprise for the future of business culture and success. Corporate leaders must be graded on their behaviors as it pertains to mental health practices while offering greater clarity to how it reflects on their values and personality. They must be willing to become personally invested in doing their own mental inventory and shape a culture that is always evolving to find the techniques that work to strengthen their organization and develop a lasting culture that is primed for success.
