Creating a thriving culture.

Here at Phire Group, we believe culture is everything. It drives our work, our relationships, our growth, and our commitment. However, a thriving culture doesn’t happen by accident — it is a long, arduous, intentional, disciplined journey that never ends. The result of the work? Beyond worth it. It is essential to any sustainable and thriving organization. Why? Let us count the ways.

 

A thriving culture creates psychological safety.

Nothing is more important to the productivity and creative freedom of a team than psychological safety. Feeling like you can be bold and make educated risks accelerates the growth of any organization. Ours has seen exponential growth in response to unleashing a culture where risk is rewarded, new ideas are embraced, and conservative solutions are seen as antiquated. Freedom reigns. Growth follows.

A thriving culture has no hierarchy (until it needs it).

If you come to a meeting at Phire Group, you’ll see some unusual things. You will likely never know who has seniority. You’ll probably not feel any sense of anyone’s ideas trumping another’s. You’ll notice that every idea is listened to, discussed, and either elevated or eliminated. When hierarchy of decision is necessary, it kicks in. Otherwise, ours is a culture of the best idea rises to the top.

A thriving culture is open and transparent.

A culture cannot thrive in darkness. Therefore, we are radically open. Open in our finances. Open in our decision making. Open in our hiring. Open in our challenges. Open in our opportunities. Everyone knows where they stand and where we collectively stand. This leads to better connection, increased communication, and less anxiety.

A thriving culture has reinforcing rituals.

Phire Group is a collection of rituals. Connection meetings. Gratitude meetings. Kudos to one another. Values-reinforcing stories, collected and shared freely. We vision together. We dream together. We formalize it all. We put it on our calendars. We never let any of it slide. See all we do here.

A thriving culture hires very slowly.

Our hiring process is extremely slow. Why? Because every additional team member can either add to us, subtract from us, or even potentially destroy our culture. We get to know competencies, but we also insist upon analyzing how a person will fit and add to our culture. Many team members are involved. Many voices are heard. We hire as a team. We onboard as a team.

A thriving culture protects mental health.

A team that is distracted, disconnected, or even burnt out is one that cannot thrive. Here, we take mental health as seriously as physical health. How? We talk about it. We check in with each other. We practice and discuss methods of mindfulness. We provide mental health days. We cover for one another. More than anything, we acknowledge it, normalize it, and protect it.

A thriving culture focuses on others over self.

The greatest thing about being a part of a thriving team is not that others have your back — it’s the fact that you get the opportunity to help others. At Phire, we do our best to see the world through others’ perspectives, always making sure we take a team-first approach. Is someone overwhelmed? Offer to help. Is someone dealing with something outside of work? Help by removing their inside-of-work challenges.

A thriving culture requires diversity and inclusion.

Note the language above. A thriving culture doesn’t pay lip service to diversity and inclusion — it requires it. Different voices. Different backgrounds. Different worldviews. It creates multiple perspectives. It builds empathy. It strengthens our work. It creates a team-wide growth mindset.

A thriving culture understands the complex dimensions of growth.

Revenue is just one measurement of success. A thriving culture looks at multiple dimensions, in which revenue is an effect — not a cause — of healthy, sustainable growth. We measure growth by other means. Are we living up to our own values and standards? Are we learning? Are we remaining curious? Are we elevating our work? Are we impacting our clients? Are we a better agency today than we were yesterday, last month, last year? When you disconnect revenue from immediate goal setting, you’ll find it all moves naturally in the right direction.

A thriving culture continually looks at itself.

At Phire, we’ve developed a committee whose sole purpose is to make sure we’re living up to our promise and our purpose. Our role is not to simply maintain, but to find ways to improve and evolve. Culture is not simply an idea or a state of being — it’s a discipline and a practice that never ends.