Within a company structure, leadership usually has a functional responsibility. Marketing. Finance. Human resources. There are specific goals and metrics, specific processes and norms. Leaders who also happen to be people managers help create OKRs and KPIs. They facilitate team meetings, maybe plan team offsites. These are the understood roles—the job description. 

Assumed Expectations

But then there’s the assumed expectation. The part that isn’t in the job description, that isn’t talked about in the interview—that isn’t part of the day-to-day. The responsibility that a leader has to drive the culture and community of an organization. 

For leaders, community and culture are the other duties, “as assigned.” Because after you read the employee handbook and hang up that Our Values poster on the wall, your actions are what define the culture…and the culture that you demonstrate drives community. 

Intention. Attitude. Behavior

Leading culture is a discipline. To create that discipline, you’ll need to think about your intention, your attitude, and your behavior. 

• Intention. What is your highest purpose as a leader? Or in this meeting? Or on this project? Beyond the posted metric or goal, how and where does this roll up to a greater mission? 
  
• Attitude. What are you bringing into your role as a leader (or into the meeting, or onto the project, et cetera.)…and what do you want that to be? We often hear “I bring an attitude of curiosity” or “open-mindedness.” What attitude are you bringing and why is it important? 
  
• Behavior. These are the actions you commit to. It could be eye contact, the pace of your speech. Turning off all notifications so you’re actually fully present. Behavior is the physical display of your intention and attitude. 

Your responsibility

You won’t find this in the job description. It probably wasn’t an interview question. And there is no metric to measure this for your yearly review. But culture—and the community that is created by culture—is absolutely your responsibility. Regardless of title or tenure, if you’re a leader, you are leading the culture. Consider your intention, attitude, and behavior, and ensure those are exceeding the expectations others have for you. Or perhaps more importantly: the expectations you have for yourself.

Click here for more ways to build and reinforce culture with your team.