PayPal, one of the world’s largest online payment companies, was one of a handful of companies in 2015 to rank 100 percent on the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking study on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Not only was this a terrific honor for the company to receive and for employees to take great pride in, but they also ranked one hundred percent because it was authentic for them. At the heart of PayPal’s culture is collaboration, innovation, wellness, and inclusion. Those are descriptors for the culture they’ve been committed to building.
As they say, “Inclusion and equality are values at the center of everything we believe in and endeavor to achieve…we must always strive for an environment of involvement, respect, collaboration and connection—where the richness of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives are cultivated and celebrated every day.”
So, what is authentic for you and your people?
The recognition PayPal received from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation was just an outcome of the shared vision of their core values and their commitment to live them each day. They weren’t trying to be someone else. They were striving to set the temperature for who they want to be in the world. They were clear on what was authentic for them and who they aspired to be, and the recognition followed, not the other way around.
Your opportunity is not to duplicate the culture of the New England Patriots football team or the San Antonio Spurs basketball team. Your opportunity is not to replicate zappos.com or Chick-fil-A. Your opportunity is not to pretend to be Greenpeace or any other organization you admire.
Those organizations have been successful because their culture is authentic for them and each person within their culture knows the temperature they are trying to set.
Your job is not to duplicate them, but to become you. Your job is to find your unique temperature.
Jason V. Barger is a globally celebrated keynote speaker, leadership coach and author of Thermostat Cultures, Step Back from the Baggage Claim and ReMember. He is founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, a Columbus-based company that works with businesses and organizations worldwide. Connect with Jason online at www.JasonVBarger.com, via email at jason@JasonVBarger.com or on social media at @JasonVBarger.
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