Recently the founder of a high tech start-up told me that his company didn't have a culture - the founders hadn't had time to pay attention to that. After hanging around the company for a bit, I observed a few things. In meetings, the loudest argument usually carried the day. Decisions were often appealed after they had become final. Long hours were the main metric of performance. Innovative solutions were recognized and rewarded. Risks were accepted as part of the cost of doing business.

Did this company have a culture? Of course. Culture is simply a set of shared beliefs and experiences that causes a group of people to behave in similar ways. However, the founders of this company had not consciously paid attention to the culture. It had emerged organically as a function of the founders' unexamined sets of values and behavior. Whether you are founding a start-up or leading an organization in a large company, you have an impact on the culture.

A few years back it was popular to say that as a leader, you "walked the talk." This meant that you put the company values into action. This is important. People believe what they see in your behavior above what they hear in your words (or on a poster). However, often we think the implications or intent of our actions will "speak for themselves." Often, they do not.

Think about this situation. The executive staff has been aware for a few months that the company has adopted a direction quite different from its original vision. Everyone on executive staff except the CTO says that it's time to make a clean break and begin the next generation of products from a fresh base. The CEO tells the executive staff that he will make the final decision only after holding meetings with key engineers to get their views. Does this reflect the fact that this is an engineering-centric culture where the technical folks always get the last say? Is the CEO doing this because he wants to be sure the organization understands that everyone's opinion matters? Both may be true, or neither. The CEO needs to "talk the walk" in this case. To be sure that the culture evolves in the intended direction, the CEO needs to announce not just the process and the ultimate decision but his intentions and thinking behind the process. This is how employees link the "walk" and the "talk". Absent explicit explanations of key events or decisions, employees often infer their own explanations, sometimes at odds with the real intentions of the decision-makers.

When you are making a decision, ask yourself how your employees or customers will see that decision as a reflection of your values and culture. If the decision appears to contradict the values, consider other options. If your decision is consistent with your values, communicate that along with the decision.

Paying attention to culture and values in the company isn't something you do once and forget. It isn't something that is accomplished in an off-site and put on a poster. It's an on-going awareness of how employees' beliefs and perceptions are shaped by the actions of key leaders. It's a willingness on the part of founders and executives to examine and articulate their values and beliefs. It's the links between actions and values.

"Walk your talk" AND "talk your walk" for the best impact.

Some ideas for consciously evolving your organization's culture:

1. Ask several individual contributors in your company for examples of recent events or decisions that reflect or contradict the company's values.

2. Look at the last decision you personally made for the organization. Think about how that decision reflects your personal values.

3. Read your organization's vision and values. Ask yourself in what ways those statements sound like the organization in which you work today.