Your Culture Contains Multitudes

I recently heard that a team was rejecting employee prospects because they didn’t feel like a culture fit. I’m not convinced there is such a thing as a “culture fit” for all organizations.

Many of the most potent organizations I’ve seen and worked with are made up of people who bring as much of their professionally -relevant selves to the team.

This invitation to “bring your whole and best self to work” can look like a wide variety of skills, talents, and perspectives working together in relative harmony. This harmonious culture can happen when values are aligned, but individual uniqueness is invited, too. It may seem contradictory (or paradoxical), but it isn’t when implemented to create team belonging.

You see, belonging is a sibling to trust. Trust and belonging together can make space for a broad spectrum of individuals with diverse talents, complementary skills, and varying views.

When individuals and teams are at their best, there can be a harmony of people — each with unique and varied voices and perspectives that make up the team. You want that because you want your people at their best, as often as possible. Inviting the best and professionally-relevant whole-self fosters their fulfillment and increases their creativity, productivity, and effectiveness.

If the voices are all singing from the same song sheet (your purpose, vision, and values), in unison, with their unique voice, chances are you’ll get harmony.

If you want belonging embedded within your team, you’ll need to invite diversity and the harmony that can come from the inclusion of diverse views and voices.

Harmony is not when everyone sings the same note at the same octave. Some dissonance creates harmony.

Harmony is not people agreeing all the time about everything.

Harmony is each unique person bringing their own unique heart, soul, and skills while singing along with the team; it’s your team members singing their distinctive notes of contribution in unison with those around them.