We have recently partnered with Illuminos Consulting in India to bring our full range of transformation solutions to one of the world’s fastest growing economies. I’m pleased to share this insightful blog post, written by Radhika Bahadur Bhushan, Director at Illuminos Consulting, about what it means to have culture of greatness within your organization. Culture eats strategy for breakfast. ~Peter Drucker For the longest time, ‘Culture of Greatness’ has been a buzzing theme. It is right up there with variants of ‘Action Orientation’, ‘Growth Mindset’, and ‘Innovation’. You can not find a competency model or values statement without one or more or all of these. What does Culture of Greatness really mean? Here are some of the common threads I have pulled out from reading and multiple conversations: Culture of greatness means that everyone in your organization is committed to excellence. It is backed by strong processes, capability and support so that this expectation is not unfounded Culture of greatness is a collective mindset in your organization that expects great things to happen at all times – good or bad While expecting your employees to be the best, you, as a leader, invest disproportionately in helping them be the best. You don’t just bring in the best people, you help people become the best they can be. People continuously learn to be better – they WANT to learn A culture of greatness is defined by positivity and trust, collaboration and a desire to DO things Sounds a bit like common sense? You are right! Unfortunately, very few organizations are able to achieve this state. Most often, the slip up happens between the stated intention of greatness and actually executing the way that engenders greatness. However, there is a way to make this a reality. Let the sciences work for you. Dan Pink’s Motivation 3.0 defines the 3 pillars of Human Motivation in an information economy – Autonomy (the desire to direct our own lives), Mastery (the urge to get better and better at something that matters) and Purpose (the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves). Positive Deviance tells us that the greatness we want to make commonplace in our business, already exists in pockets within the organization. Your STAR performers are epitomes of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. And they are more than willing to share what makes them so great, if only the right forum were provided and the correct questions asked. Neuroscience helps us create a learning journey that sets people up for success. Adult learning is more driven by motivation than IQ. Construct it right, and 90% of your employees will show changes for the better. Put these three together, and you have a powerful protocol that has helped organisations like Intel, Hewlett Packard, Jack in the Box and Sears create Cultures of Greatness.