The Performance Culture

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

In The 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.

Introduction xi
Work isn’t working

Chapter 1 A Big Misunderstanding 1
Amid the debates over profits, politics, and buzzwords, we’ve missed work’s 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

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.

Business leaders are increasingly caught between a vocal employee base expecting action on social and political issues and financial stakeholders insisting on a focus on revenue generation. How should leaders balance these twin—and sometimes contradictory—priorities to best realize the goals of their companies?

In The Performance Culture, veteran inclusion expert Khalil Smith delivers a simple, practical, and approachable guide to building a better workplace. This book is the “cheat sheet” you need to get you and your company back on track to building inclusive, high-performing teams. You’ll discover the actions you can take immediately to generate real-world outcomes that transform your business for the better.

Smith explains how to get your employees aligned, engaged, and collaborating with one another. He uses compelling stories and contemporary research to help business leaders deal with the most pressing challenges. You’ll find the four key ingredients to creating high-performing teams: Awareness, Behaviors, Community, and Systems, as well as how to deploy those ingredients in ways that affect dramatic change and get results.

The Performance Culture helps leaders navigate the seemingly tricky tradeoff involved in balancing social, political, and cultural issues with creating a business and workplace that effectively grows revenue and creates value for all stakeholders. It explains how to maintain a strong focus on business performance while building a diverse and inclusive organization that’s fair to the people involved.

An essential roadmap to some of the most fraught issues animating the business environment today, The Performance Culture is a must-read for managers, executives, directors, entrepreneurs, founders, human resources and people professionals, and other business leaders.

Praise for The Performance Culture

“Khalil Smith is a rare thinker who brings a fresh, masterful perspective to diverse subjects, from behavioral science to leadership to inclusion. In The Performance Culture, he combines those elements into a powerful model of organizational life. Building organizations that work for everyone requires a trip into the human mind, shared values, and identity. Smith is a consummate guide on that journey.”
—JAMIL ZAKI, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, and author of Hope for Cynics

“Whip-smart and insightful, this book shines a light on the challenges we face at work while offering a clear path to change. Khalil infuses each page with hope and optimism, empowering individuals, leaders, and teams to take charge of the seemingly uncontrollable. A must-read for anyone seeking to make a positive impact in their workplace!”
—JANET AHN, PhD, Chief Behavioral Science Officer, President of Americas, MindGym

“The difference between a good team and a great one lies in how well they work together. The Performance Culture offers a detailed, evidence-based roadmap for leaders looking to foster collaboration, reduce friction, and build a culture where productivity and engagement flourish. This is the essential guide to transforming work environments from conflict zones into high-functioning ecosystems.”
—JAY VAN BAVEL, Professor of Psychology at New York University, and author of The Power of Us