In a recent Inc.com article, “How to Build a Company Culture Employees Will Love,” Jennifer Zick, founder and CEO of Authentic, shares her insights on cultivating a thriving workplace culture. Drawing from her own experiences, including the motivation to establish Authentic after encountering negative cultural environments, she emphasizes the importance of intentional and collaborative culture-building.
“Company culture isn’t something you can just force to happen from the top down,” Zick states. “You have to listen and understand.” She highlights that without deliberate efforts to shape the desired culture, it will develop organically, often leading to undesirable outcomes.
At Authentic, Zick has operationalized core values into the very fabric of the business. The firm’s five Core Values and 25 Authentic Actions are featured prominently on the company website. Each Monday morning, an employee (from any area of the business) creates and shares a video, offering their perspective on the Authentic Action of the week. And internal meetings always kick off with a discussion of the Authentic Action – giving staff members a chance to share their stories of how they see the company’s values lived out, and why that matters to them. .
Zick’s commitment to fostering a positive company culture extends beyond Authentic. She created a community service initiative, called Two Or More, as a way to bring local professionals together in support of charitable causes. She also spends her time sharing her entrepreneurial journey – often focusing on culture and values-based leadership – speaking at various business events, such as Purpose Driven Coffee.
Ultimately, Zick’s purpose in business ownership is inspired by the opportunity to cultivate an environment where every employee can “love their life and love their work.” Zick explains: “It’s important to me that every member of our team knows that they are seen, heard, respected, and appreciated. And when our employees experience the support of that kind of culture, they work hard to protect it. And that’s when culture becomes scalable.”
