Stanford
Manager Toolkit

Cultivate a Positive Culture

Managers are in a unique position to support employee engagement.

Our workplace has core values that echo our institutional values:

  • Meaningful pursuits. We are energized and engaged because the work we do truly matters and contributes to the overall mission of the university.
  • Having Pride. We take great pride in our contributions, which reflect our collective excellence.
  • Collaboration & Connections. Our work requires the purposeful coordination of thousands of bright minds. We work in a collegial manner, through synergistic processes, and always as a team.

Here are a few actions you may take to cultivate a positive workplace culture:

1. Champion the employer brand with employees.

Reference the Cardinal at Work website and related announcements to:

  • Promote activities, programs, and services to help your employees better integrate work and life.
  • Support your employees’ interests and attendance of employee-related events and activities.
  • Brainstorm with your team and email us at hrcommunications@stanford.edu with your groups’ ideas for fun events and activities to influence our plans.

2. Inspire and lead with excellence

  • Find new and creative opportunities to share feedback and recognize your employees on a regular basis. Ask employees how they prefer to be recognized for great results.
  • Foster workplace collaboration not only within your school/unit, but with colleagues across campus. Seek opportunities for the development of your employees, such as cross-functional committees/project teams. Be a role model for collaborative practices, such as asking for feedback, making use of collaboration technology (e.g., Slack and Zoom), and in interpersonal connections to value the whole person.

3. Take advantage of management tools

  • Easily recognize and share appreciation using appreciation graphics you copy and paste into an email. The best recognition is timely and specific, so add your own content above or underneath the graphics in the body of your email.
  • Review development resources and other tools for people managers on a range of topics.
  • Utilize the research findings, tools, and templates with your free account to the Gartner database of best practices that support effective communication, employee relations, and high engagement.