Your team culture is the attitude and behaviors of the people on your team on a day-to-day basis. The culture is dynamic and ever-changing. As a leader, it is essential that you are intentional about continuing to build and monitor the culture within your team. 

Two key components of a team culture:

1. Positive

2. People on the team feel safe and supported

These two components are imperative for any team culture no matter the job. In addition to these, you can decide what is most important on your own team culture based on your beliefs, the people on the team, and the type of work that you are doing.

Here are some strategies for building your team culture:

*Know what you stand for and are guided by. If you are a Project Manager then your company will most likely have a Mission Statement and Core Values. How can you incorporate these into your team? One way is to choose a specific core value and to discuss how your team will utilize it. For instance, if the core value is integrity, you can start the meeting by going over the value of being honest and doing the right thing even if it is the hard thing to do. 

*Demonstrate the type of culture that you want to have. As the leader, you need to walk the talk. If you are expecting others to show up on time, work hard, and be respectful then you need to make sure that you are doing these things yourself. You don't need to be perfect but you do need to do your best to live up to the behaviors that you want to see from others.

*Hire the right people. When deciding who is going to be on your team, you want to make sure that in addition to being able to do the job that they also will fit in with your culture. What is their attitude like? Are their values in alignment with our team values? Are they able to collaborate with others on the team? It is critical to consider these things in addition to their skills and experience. On some teams you lead, you will not have a say in who is on the team. In those cases, it is necessary to build relationships and continue to develop the team members. 

*Celebrate and appreciate whenever possible. One of the best ways to develop a positive culture is by celebrating and appreciating the team members. A great way to do this is to start off every meeting with celebrations. As the leader, you can celebrate people on the team and team members can celebrate each other. An example is, "I'd like to celebrate Ali for the amazing job she did with the presentation." For appreciation, when you see someone that is doing a great job, putting in extra effort, or making an improvement then acknowledge them as soon as possible. This can be in front of others, in a private conversation, a text, or an email.

*Hold people accountable to the team standards. It is important that you set the standards for how team members communicate, show up to meetings, the level of work expected for the job, etc. If these aren't met then there needs to be accountability. Accountability isn't a negative thing. It is simply making sure that people are living up to the standards so that the team can excel and have great results. When doing this be firm and simply let them know the behavior that didn't meet our standards. Then come up with a plan with them to ensure that it is met in the future. 

*Communicate as we rather than me. When talking with your team pay close attention to your language. Instead of saying that "I am going to" simply change it to "we are going to." This makes it more about the team and less about you. This helps create a culture where we are all working towards the same goal. It is these small things that make a big difference in leadership! 

*Take ownership and give credit. If mistakes are made, as the leader it ultimately rests with you. See specifically where you could have done better. Be willing to admit these and take ownership when you talk to the team. On the other hand when things go well look to share the credit and recognize others. 

When you have a successful culture it will lead to higher levels of performance, a happier workplace, and an increase in retention. It is worth the extra time and effort that is required to build and maintain this culture where people feel safe, supported, and are able to flourish.