The Performance Culture

A powerful framework for going beyond the corporate buzzwords to generate real business results In The Performance Culture, leadership expert Khalil Smith and veteran storyteller Chris Weller deliver an authoritative and practical instruction manual for every leader who wants to create healthy, high-performing cultures. The authors explain how to get your employees aligned, engaged, and collaborating with each other using compelling stories and contemporary research. In the book, you'll learn to turn the temperature down on some of business' hottest conversations, focusing on what actually creates top-tier performance without ignoring the pressing issues that influence the realities of work. You'll also find: Strategies for maintaining a strong focus on business results with an increasingly vocal employee base demanding action on social and political issues The four key ingredients to creating high-performing teams: awareness, behaviors, community, and systems Practical advice for making the most of your existing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies A can't-miss guide for today's leaders, managers, directors, executives, founders, and anyone who wants to build more successful and durable teams, The Performance Culture is an effective and essential roadmap that transforms how diverse and inclusive workplaces succeed.

Introduction xi Work isn’t working Chapter 1 A Big Misunderstanding 1 Amid the debates over profits, politics, and buzzwords, we’ve missed work’s best purpose Chapter 2 The ABCS of Culture 15 Appreciating the importance of awareness, behaviors, community, and systems Chapter 3 Start with Awareness 31 Where are you paying attention? Chapter 4 Awareness Practice 45 Forget what you “know,” ask deep questions, and do your research Chapter 5 Behaviors Over Beliefs 57 Focus on actions over ideologies Copyrighted Material Chapter 6 Behaviors Practice 71 Be specific, use plain language, and make it shareable Chapter 7 Cultivating Community 83 Be a Good Neighbor to Your Colleagues ix Chapter 8 Community Practice 97 Identify your crucial stakeholders, shift your perspective, and craft the story Chapter 9 Systems Cement the Change 111 How to make your culture run (almost) on autopilot Chapter 10 Systems Practice 125 Anticipate and evaluate, map the flow, and keep systems supportive Chapter 11 Putting It All Together 141 When effective culture just looks like high performance Epilogue 161 Building cultures that win Notes 169 Acknowledgments 175 About the Author 177 Index 179