Recently Glassdoor published a study that looked at what makes a good CEO. The report lists six key factors that go into making a great CEO. In reality these six factors are the things that go into creating a great culture.

By Steve Moran

Recently Glassdoor published a study that looked at what makes a good CEO. I wrote about that in an articled titled How Does Your CEO Stack Up? They created a companion document titled  “What Makes a Great CEO?” (While the download is free, you do have to register).  ,

The report lists six key factors that go into making a great CEO. In reality these six factors are the things that go into creating a great culture. Here they are and how they might apply to your organization:

  1. Focus on Culture — This at first blush seems sort of circumlocutory (pretty cool word, huh?), but it really isn’t. When a leader focuses on culture it will always . . . every single time . . . get better. I might even be so bold as to say that if the leader is focused on culture the result will be an outstanding culture.

    The reason for this is that these leaders are constantly thinking about how to make their culture better for their team. In addition, they are reading and exploring what others are doing to create great cultures.   

    This is so important that if I had magical powers, I would wave a wand over every single senior living CEO and imbue them with a passion culture.

  2. A Strong Leadership Team — It is impossible to have a great senior living team when only the top person is really good. This is too often a big problem for senior leaders, they want strong leaders but not too strong. While it might make a great leader look brilliant in the short-term it is a terrible way to build anything but a crummy culture.  

    The best leaders look to hire team members who are more effective, and more brilliant than they are.

  1. Offer Great Career Development Opportunities — This is one culture area where senior living can really shine. We hire lots of people and there are lots of opportunities for advancement. It is likely that most team members will not use the opportunities, nonetheless, it is critical to having a successful culture.  

    Your team members want to know you care about them as people, about their lives and their families. There is no better way to send the message that you care than to make available a growth path.

  1. Equitable Compensation Packages at All Levels — This is such a tough tough issue in the world of senior living. CEOs generally make great money as do regional folks and many of the local management staff. It would take buckets of money to pay a true living wage for line staff and their immediate supervisors (though I would note that there are a few companies that have figured out how to do it or at least get very close).

    There are some things that can be done:

    A.  Make sure there is fairness.
    B.  Provide a decent benefits package
    C.  Provide a better than average vacation/PTO/Sick-time package.
    D.  Talk honestly about money

  1. Focus on Company Performance — Everyone wants to be part of a winning organization. This is a double-edged sword, particularly when the primary strategy for improving performance is cutting costs. Much better is revenue growth and in the case of senior living a focus on 95% plus occupancy.  

  2. Think Like a Founder — Founders have a unique relationship with an organization and the team that works with that organization. There is a level of passion and vision that is much harder for the second leader to maintain. Yet, it is possible to have a founder mentality and it will pay great dividends.

So . . . how is your culture?