Leader's Manual

We often hear of “company culture” when browsing through job postings, online company reviews, and through casual conversations with friends and family. When people talk about their job or company, we almost always hear some reflection on the “culture”, and it seems to be a strong indicator of whether we view a job as a good one or bad. But what creates that culture? What is the main force behind how people view or perceive their workplace? The answer to those questions usually isn’t one specific thing, but rather a combination of many topics and viewpoints. Even if culture comprises many different things like company benefits, work-life balance, schedule flexibility, and so on; one aspect is usually weighted significantly more than the rest. Leadership.

Larry Bossidy, the former CEO of AlliedSignal (later known as Honeywell) and an executive at General Electric, famously stated, “Culture is the behavior of its leaders.” Leaders play a heavy role in shaping the culture that people experience in the workplace. While “company culture” is a widely used term, most individuals typically encounter only certain facets of the broader organizational culture within their respective teams. Leaders will inevitably begin to shape their own micro-culture within their organization. This phenomenon is the result of the Law of Replication. I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase “monkey see, monkey do;” that phrase holds a lot of truth and applies to the business world. The words and actions of a team’s leadership will absolutely affect the actions and behaviors of their employees and will shape the culture of that team.

Let’s explore the Law of Replication. Michael Hyatt simplifies it as “you get what you model,” as discussed in one of his podcasts on this topic. Essentially, those who look up to you will observe your actions and often emulate them. Various factors drive this replication—inspiration from the leader, or the perception that certain behaviors are permissible because the leader exhibits them. This can exert both positive and negative influences on team culture. For instance, a positive impact might involve a leader who consistently checks in with team members on a personal level, fostering genuine connections. Such behavior is likely to be mirrored by employees, enhancing team cohesion. Conversely, a negative example could be a manager who frequently arrives late to meetings. Subordinates observing this may adopt the same tardiness, affecting team punctuality and morale. Leadership behaviors unquestionably shape employee performance and approach to their tasks.

Leaders need to recognize how their behavior and actions influence others, particularly those they lead. When leaders exert minimal effort in their work or with their teams, their employees are likely to follow suit. This principle is straightforward yet often overlooked. Many leaders underestimate their impact on others. How can we ensure that we, as leaders, model the behaviors we expect from our teams? Michael and Megan Hyatt address this in their podcast (linked), emphasizing three key principles that leaders should consistently bear in mind. 

1– Character has Consequences

Having good character is when you do the right thing for the right reasons. You feel morally obligated to do something because you feel in your core that is the right thing to do. Leaders who demonstrate good character often create healthy work environments. They allow for safe spaces to develop within their organizations which in turn builds trust. Trust is vital for building interpersonal relationships and also helps boost not only employee morale but also productivity. It’s easy for people to focus on productivity and creative solutions when they trust their leaders and feel happy. It’s also generally easier to develop good rapport with people we deem as having good character, thus also developing strong commitment. You may want to spend some time reflecting on how you demonstrate good character in your workplace and don’t be afraid to seek feedback from your team or colleagues on this.

2– Leaders Set the Tone

The tone in an organizational environment often refers to the attitude that leadership exerts and uses to convey feelings or influence behavior. Communication is and forever will be a vital part of working with others and tone plays a role in how effective our communication is. We can look at our tone in a literal sense, where if you sound upset chances are others will assume you are upset, and possibly upset at them. Which rarely works out to our benefit. If we are speaking or messaging our employees, we should be aware of our tone and how it could be interpreted, and thus how it may impact them. If we look at tone from a more figurative standpoint, leaders can influence the entire work environment and sway others to behave in a certain way. If you go into a meeting with a strict and intimidating demeanor, then people could be fearful to approach you with questions or ideas. Try checking in with yourself or others on what tone you may be setting for your team.

3– Actions are Louder than Words

This is true for almost every aspect of life, from family interactions to politics. If someone says they will do one thing and doesn’t or turns around and does the opposite, people WILL notice. People see your actions, especially your actions as a leader. Hypocrisy can be very easy to identify and often breeds cynicism and degrades trust. As we talked about earlier, trust is VITAL in building healthy relationships, especially at work. If your actions don’t reflect your words or expectations, then people will lose trust in you. Trina Hoefling mentions in her book Working Virtually: Transforming the Mobile Workplace, that without trust, interactions can become simply “transactional” and can cause employee commitment to weaken, leading to less productivity and low morale. It’s important to live by what you preach and not to expect from others what you don’t expect from yourself.

One way we can summarize the three points we touched on above, is that it comes down to “self-leadership.”  Are you leading yourself the same way that you lead others? Are you living up to your own expectations? If you expect your team to be on time for meetings, are you ensuring that you are also on time for meetings? I’ve heard many people say in my lifetime “I would never ask you to do what I wouldn’t do myself,” and I think that’s an important phrase to live by. Leaders who can lead themselves will have much healthier relationships with others and that in turn will lead to a happier and more productive workplace.

Michael Hyatt also discusses in his podcast how “the law of replication is nearly impossible to break.” This statement can be interpreted in several ways. On one hand, it highlights how deeply entrenched the culture created by leaders can be, whether positive or negative. Additionally, leaders themselves often answer to higher leadership, underscoring the adage that “everyone has a boss.” What happens when leaders find themselves in a toxic work environment shaped by poor upper management? This is where the emphasis on “nearly impossible” comes into play—not as an absolute barrier, but a challenge to overcome. Leaders can strive to be the exception to a bad culture by leveraging their self-leadership skills to cultivate a positive micro-culture. When others witness and hear about this initiative, they are likely to join and support efforts for change. By setting high standards and encouraging their teams to adopt them, leaders can challenge and reshape the prevailing organizational culture. While this transformation may require time and patience, the Law of Replication can also be harnessed to break negative cycles and foster positive change.

We see the Law of Replication everywhere in our personal and professional lives, and the more aware of it we become, the more impact we can have for the better. Great leaders inspire their teams and give rise to other great leaders and the cycle repeats.

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I highly recommend listening to Michael and Megan Hyatt’s podcast on the Law of replication! Click here to start listening!

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Feature Image by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

References:

Hyatt, Michael, and Megan Hyatt. “Leadership and the Law of Replication.” BusinessAccelerator, 18 Oct. 2022, businessaccelerator.com/law-of-replication/.

Hoefling, Trina, and Didier Elzinga. Working Virtually: Transforming the Mobile Workplace. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2023.