As an executive, you don’t get to create your own environment BUT you get to create the environment for those who are report up to you. So essentially, you “live” in one environment, and you craft an environment for the folks in your span of care to “live” in. Those two environments are ideally, both wonderful, but that’s rarely the case. Realistically, many executives are frustrated by their corporate environment, which is often bureaucratic, competitive, political, and risk adverse.

It is possible to create a positive, healthy environment within your team that is completely different than the larger corporate environment.

A nest is a useful metaphor here. You cannot control the weather or the other inhabitants, but you can create a nest that provides a healthy environment for those in your span of care.

Make no mistake, environments are created … so do so intentionally rather than just letting things evolve as they may. You most likely won’t like the environment that naturally evolves.

So be very intentional around the environment you are creating. To do this, thoughtfully consider:

• What kind of environment do I value?
• What kind of environment do I want for those in my span of care?
• How do I go about crafting this environment?

Understand thought, that you will likely have to behave one way in the environment that you have created and behave slightly differently in the larger environment that you must operate in. Just make sure that your behavior in both environments aligns with you values. Be as authentic as possible in both environments.