What kind of climate are you creating?

With many a business book these days yielding unsurprising platitudes (apart from those that are making us smarter about AI), and so much of progress in life still ultimately dependent on how we relate to one other, I have found myself turning less to business books lately, and more to fiction, in my search for added insight about human behavior.

Like fish so habituated to the water around them, we too may take for granted some of the nuances shaping the currents that influence our momentum and that of those around us – whether facets of character, motivation, identity, roles or other aspects of human psychology.

 And so … I was recently reading Dame Penelope Lively’s classic novel about families and their dysfunctions: Family Album. While it illuminates so many human dimensions that can play a part in our interactions – from how we assume and often cling to roles, to the ripples from what is said or left unsaid, to the echoes of old relationship history – the comment that made me pause conveyed one character’s insight in explaining what shaped events in their family: “it’s not so much dynamics, it’s a climate.”1 

 That line stayed with me. For, just as families develop their own climates, so do teams and organizations. And those climates – often opaque yet deeply felt – can make or break performance.

Yes, much of what unfolds in teams and organizations stems from the classic factors – whether the habitual dynamics between certain individuals, or postures that emanate from our roles, or behaviors that are a direct consequence of a company’s explicit strategy or organizational culture. But what about the immediate, nuanced climate that a leader creates for their team? 

 These climates have a profound influence on what gets done, how engaged colleagues feel, and what gets ignored … and yet they can sometimes be challenging to characterize.

 There are climates that may convey a sense that dissent is discouraged. Others may radiate a feeling of deep personal support or a norm of collaboration. Some may signal an unspoken preference for keeping one’s personal life at home and committing to showing up always as your strictly professional self. Another climate might reinforce the dominant importance of nailing the operational details of today over the value of exploring creative innovations for tomorrow.

 Leaders create these climates in ways both overt and far more subtle, whether in how they run meetings, respond to setbacks, seek input, or show up day-to-day.

 Many factors shape an individual’s engagement, performance and development – and therefore the success of the organization – but in a world where the word “climate” is under challenge in certain circles, let’s be sure not to underestimate the significance of the kind of climate that leaders create and their teams live in. Leaders influence these climates in ways both deliberate and unintended. Recognizing that tremendous influence is the first step in seeing clearly where things stand and in shaping that climate with purpose.

 What kind of climate are you creating? And, more importantly, what do you want to create next?

1 Lively, Penelope. Family Album. Location 1100. Viking Penguin. 2009