What does it take to build a strong, inclusive company culture?
The answer is far from simple. Many companies try and fail to find the secret ingredient. They use free food, unlimited vacation time, open workspaces designed to foster collaboration. But, in the course of all our work on culture and inclusion across a broad swath of energy companies, we have discovered three critical pieces that underpin every strong, successful company:
Mentorship. Networks. Environment.
We’ve spent the past month talking through each of these elements. Last week, our focus was the importance of mentorship. Specifically through the work we are doing at Lean In Energy, the nonprofit organization we founded in collaboration with Sheryl Sandberg’s global Lean In organization.
In our story on the Women of Weatherford — the women’s networking organization taking shape within Weatherford International — we talked through the value of networks in advancing your career. We followed that up with a Coach's Corner conversation with two executives from ConocoPhillips. We discussed how to leverage both internal and external networks — and why it’s important to have both.
And finally, we talked through environment and why space matters in building a strong culture. But... not in the ways we usually think. It’s not about style or design (although that doesn’t hurt). Rather, it’s about bringing people together in a way that creates connection. Space builds an ecosystem of support, whether it's within a single company or at a co-working space that plays host to entrepreneurs, small businesses and freelancers alike.
We also dig into these core elements in the Energy Diversity & Inclusion Index. This Experience Energy survey launched earlier this summer to gain first-of-its-kind insight into the state of inclusion in energy.
And don’t forget to register for the GRIT Awards to hear the results of the Energy Diversity & Inclusion Index revealed live!
