Season 9 Episode 17: Culture is the Shelter We Provide for People

Season 9 Episode 17: Culture is the Shelter We Provide for People

In a world marked by rapid change, uncertainty, and often, division, where do people find stability, connection, and support? While community groups and families play their roles, Jason Barger suggests on this episode of The Thermostat podcast that our workplaces hold a unique and powerful position. Organizations, the places where many spend the majority of their waking hours, have a profound opportunity to shape experiences, foster development, and provide a vital sense of belonging. The central theme explored is that corporate culture isn’t just about productivity; it’s about the shelter we create for the people within it.

Summary: The Workplace as a Haven

This episode examines the significant role organizations play in the lives of their employees, extending far beyond job descriptions and profit margins. Jason Barger, drawing from his experiences across diverse industries, observes that workplaces are often the most varied environments people regularly encounter, bringing together individuals with different backgrounds, perspectives, and strengths. In today’s challenging climate, where anxieties and external pressures are high, the organizational culture can either reflect that turmoil or serve as a stabilizing force.

Inspired by the Irish proverb, “In the shelter of each other, the people live,” Barger proposes that the best leadership views creating a positive team culture as providing essential shelter. This isn’t merely a passive concept but an active practice. Thriving organizations intentionally define their culture, listen intently to their people, engage in necessary courageous conversations, foster emotional intelligence, and cultivate authentic, servant leadership. They understand that when people feel safe, valued, connected, and developed, their engagement and performance naturally increase. Therefore, building a strong culture is not an “add-on” but a fundamental aspect of leadership in teams and organizational strategy, offering a necessary refuge and a platform for growth amidst worldly complexities.

Notable Quotes

• On the Role of Organizations: “My observation, my reflection and my my personal belief is that our organizations play one of the biggest roles we have in helping people navigate and experience the world today.”

• Culture as Shelter Origin: “She replied that the Irish saying meant ‘in the shelter of each other and the people we live.’ …This proverb stirred deep within me…” (Referencing Margaret J. Wheatley’s explanation shared by Terry Hershey)

• The Workplace Microcosm: “Yet our places of employment… also often represent the spaces in the world where the most different people come together to accomplish something. These are often the most diverse places of experiences of thoughts and of backgrounds.”

• Culture is Not an Extra: “The best places to work we know. Realize the culture they create for their people is not an add-on. It’s not an extra thing they do, it’s a part of everything they do.”

• The Core Metaphor: “The best places realize that their culture often becomes the shelter they provide for their people.”

• Where Development Happens: “Our organizations are the places where we develop, how to become better teammates. It’s where we get clarity on the culture for how we want to collaborate… Where we learn the diverse strengths of people… The places where we learn how to have more effective, courageous conversations… The places where we build trust, we experience care…”

• Defining True Leadership: “The best places help define and develop in its people what… does compelling, influential and exceptional servant leadership… really look like in action and behavior so that we don’t perpetuate the old models…”

• The Call to Action: “We are the ambassadors for the life and the cultures that we want to create together. And in every one of our collaborations, we have an opportunity to be shelter for the people that we collaborate with. We get to make our relationships transformational rather than just transactional.”

Questions to Ponder

1. What is the type of culture you hope to create into the future? (Whether thinking about your team, organization, family, or community)
2. What is the shelter you provide your people right now in the world?
3. How can you help all your people develop and grow and feel connected to that culture?

Links and References

For more insights and practical tips, be sure to check out Jason V Barger’s book Breathing Oxygen. This book dives deeper into the concepts discussed in this episode and provides additional strategies for fostering a positive mindset and effective leadership.

Visit ThermostatCulturesLive.com referenced in this episode

By incorporating these practices into your summer routine, you can breathe new life into your personal and professional endeavors. Remember, as Jason says, “The best leaders, teams, and cultures on the planet stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.”

Our next episode will feature Human Centered Leadership with Ryan Estis. Stay Tuned!