Leaders and Organizational Culture In today's dynamic business environment, leadership must understand the value and importance of their organization's culture. While it can never be formally defined, leadership must have a vision of the intended culture and a plan to create and maintain it. This vision will serve as the potter's clay that will determine everything from the dress code to the organizational structure. This paper examines two methods organizations can choose to create and maintain a healthy culture. One of the most effective ways to create and maintain a healthy work environment is to cultivate the next generation of leaders to lead by the example he or she sets. Each generation of leaders is influential in shaping and shaping the generation of leaders that will follow. Leaders should recognize that while they can have a great impact on an organization, their reign will eventually end. Good leaders will notice leadership traits in the employees who work for them and take the time to cultivate those traits. The leader does not need to advertise the fact that he is trying to create future leaders, he simply lives life and demonstrates compassion, competence and conviction to these potential leaders. Potential leaders will appreciate the way their leaders behave towards them and will try to imitate that behavior. Just as young children try to imitate and imitate their parents, for better or worse, employees will also try to imitate and imitate their leaders. The Department of the Army is one of the largest employers in the United States and is constantly looking for ways to develop leaders capable of fighting the nation's wars. Field Manual (FM) 6-22 is titled “Army Leadership: Competent, Confident, … halfway through the document … and significant progress in these areas. This serves to endear the employee to the organization and society at large. Or they can promote community and teamwork by removing walls. Regardless of the method, an organization's culture defines the organization for its employees and society at large. Careful planning, maintenance and occasional changes are necessary to ensure that the organization's culture contributes to the success of the business. References: Balerdi, A. (2007, May 19). Work ethic. Estates Gazette, retrieved July 31, 2008 from the Business Source Complete database. Headquarters, Department of the Army. (2006). Army Leadership: Competent, confident and agile. Washington, DC: Department of the Army. Kislik, L. (2008, May). Conduct a culture scan. Multichannel Retailer, 4(5), 72-73. Retrieved August 1, 2008, from Business Source Complete database.