The Performance Culture

A powerful framework for going beyond the corporate buzzwords to generate real business results

InThe Performance Culture, leadership expert Khalil Smith and veteran storyteller Chris Weller deliver an authoritative and practical instruction manual for every leader who wants to create healthy, high-performing cultures. The authors explain how to get your employees aligned, engaged, and collaborating with each other using compelling stories and contemporary research.

In the book, you'll learn to turn the temperature down on some of business' hottest conversations, focusing on what actually creates top-tier performance without ignoring the pressing issues that influence the realities of work. You'll also find:

• Strategies for maintaining a strong focus on business results with an increasingly vocal employee base demanding action on social and political issues
• The four key ingredients to creating high-performing teams: awareness, behaviors, community, and systems
• Practical advice for making the most of your existing diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies

A can't-miss guide for today's leaders, managers, directors, executives, founders, and anyone who wants to build more successful and durable teams,The Performance Culture is an effective and essential roadmap that transforms how diverse and inclusive workplaces succeed.

KHALIL SMITH, MBA, MS, is the Vice President of Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement at Akamai Technologies. He and his team oversee key elements of the employee experience, including employer branding, employee listening, employee programs, and the Akamai Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the organization.

CHRIS WELLER is the founder of 1-Across, a ghostwriting firm that works with top social scientists, business executives, and entrepreneurs to change how people see the world.

Introduction xi
Work isnt working

Chapter 1 A Big Misunderstanding 1
Amid the debates over profits, politics, and buzzwords, weve missed works best purpose

Chapter 2 The ABCS of Culture 15
Appreciating the importance of awareness, behaviors, community, and systems

Chapter 3 Start with Awareness 31
Where are you paying attention?

Chapter 4 Awareness Practice 45
Forget what you know, ask deep questions, and do your research

Chapter 5 Behaviors Over Beliefs 57
Focus on actions over ideologies Copyrighted Material

Chapter 6 Behaviors Practice 71
Be specific, use plain language, and make it shareable

Chapter 7 Cultivating Community 83
Be a Good Neighbor to Your Colleagues ix

Chapter 8 Community Practice 97
Identify your crucial stakeholders, shift your perspective, and craft the story

Chapter 9 Systems Cement the Change 111
How to make your culture run (almost) on autopilot

Chapter 10 Systems Practice 125
Anticipate and evaluate, map the flow, and keep systems supportive

Chapter 11 Putting It All Together 141
When effective culture just looks like high performance

Epilogue 161
Building cultures that win

Notes 169

Acknowledgments 175

About the Author 177

Index 179