Page 123 - Make Work Great

Organic Growth

that defi nes the need for agreement for each item of discussion. If
your employees interact with each other regularly, or if they have
employees of their own, the multiplicative effect of your crystalline
network could work very quickly.
Good managers and leaders often create a positive subculture
within their groups. Doing so consciously may be a great mutual
benefi t proposition, a way to increase your group’s output and enjoy-
ment while also growing your cultural crystal.
As you add employees, however, remember that their frequent
interaction means they’re comparing notes about you! Your responsi-
bility is to treat them fairly and equitably. Equitable treatment doesn’t
mean identical treatment; there’s nothing wrong with helping differ-
ent employees develop different skills or developing a mentorship rela-
tionship with one person. But equitable does mean equal. Take care
to avoid anything remotely resembling favoritism. Stay fully within
both the letter and the spirit of fairness, as defi ned by your company’s
policies and your own ethics. To infuse even the slightest bit of any-
thing else into your new culture, even accidentally, would be counter
to your intent and act like salt to your emerging ice crystal.

Broadcast to Your Role Set
You needn’t limit your thinking to those who report to you. Another
group to consider early in the process is your primary role set. Recall
from the Prologue that this small group of people—typically between

fi ve and eight—exerts the most influence over what you do at work.
You already have a lot of interaction with the members of your role
set; they are often on the receiving end of your output. As a result,
you have many opportunities to interact with them, role-model to
them, and—if they’re receptive—encourage them to become part of
your new cultural crystal.
Your manager is most likely one of these people. Whoever the rest
of them are (employees, customers, colleagues, managers, or execu-
tives), you have an opportunity to showcase your new patterns of
behavior in the context of delivering what they already ask of you.

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