When we think about what it takes to optimize business outcomes, we tend to focus on productivity, performance, and profitability. But there’s a fourth P in the equation: personality. And it turns out that this factor weighs heavily on your team’s ability to get its work done, respond swiftly to opportunities and challenges, and compete successfully over the long term.

Here’s how to leverage culture for better outcomes:

• Get everyone on the same page. When focusing on culture make sure to establish communication and collaboration channels that are truly productive. Too often, companies establish procedures—weekly meetings, daily status updates—that aren’t serving the real goals and priorities.
• Manage from the front lines. Working with people in the trenches shows you how processes are currently managed and where the people who perform the tasks see opportunities for improvement. You can more easily identify pain points and bottlenecks, find solutions, and get team support at the same time, all of which can have a positive cultural impact.
• Harness the power of change. When managed productively, communication and collaboration foster a culture of trust in the organization and the individuals working there, and that makes employees more receptive to change. As teams navigate that change, the company will find leaders among the employees. These are your “change champions,” people who motivate and inspire others to create a collective success.

Your cultural climate can work to foster engagement, empowerment, and a sense of commitment to the company and its objectives. To some degree, it depends on how you motivate someone to take charge.

Read the Pushing Team Speed guide to learn how to leverage your team culture for growth.