Unraveling the mystery of organizational culture

If you’re a business leader, how things get done in your organization must be a critical concern for you. In many cases, you’ve been the one vetting and hiring new staff members in the hope they’ll be productive and effective team members. Or perhaps you have a management team responsible for this. Regardless, whatever measure you use, whether revenue, net income or living your mission, the buck stops with you when it comes to the overall success of your organization. 

But have you set the stage for your staff members’ success or have you set them and your organization up for failure? We all know, and perhaps lived, horror stories stemming from companies making bad hires, rewarding negative or destructive behaviors, tolerating poor performance and their resulting impacts on things like productivity, customer service, staff turnover and perceptions of your brand. The effects are far-reaching. And expensive.

How does culture come into play?

The word, “culture” has unfortunately been reduced to an overused buzzword. I have heard companies promoting their “employee-centered culture” or their “fun culture.” Both of these examples are likely talking about organizational climate, not culture. Culture and climate often get commingled as concepts but they are related. 

To help unpack this, here is the culture definition I use: Culture is the characteristic patterns of thinking and behaving shaped by the shared beliefs, values and underlying assumptions of an organization’s members.

In other words, culture is cognitive — it’s what we know through actions and messages. It reflects how things work or are expected to work in your organization. 

On the other hand, “climate” is perceptual. It’s what we sense and perceive. It answers the question “How does it feel to work here?” And this can change as circumstances change.

Leaders need to attend to both climate and culture. Employees act on the basis of what’s expected of them (culture). Employees react to the way things are, based on what they sense and experience (climate). A positive climate will inform a constructive work culture. But clarity around acceptable cultural behaviors (norms) is critically important. 

If you, as the leader of your organization, are clear about what it takes to fit in and meet expectations, then you have done the first part of your job when it comes to managing your culture. The second part is designing your workflows, processes, procedures, practices, reward systems, etc. to be in alignment with the culture. The third part is holding others accountable to the culture you are aiming to build. 

A caution for business leaders: Culture happens on its own unless you establish the one your organization needs to be successful. Emergent cultures that arise organically can be counter-productive to your organization’s needs and aims. I am a proponent of building a culture with intent to align with the organization’s vision, mission, values and brand.

Why should I care about culture?

Culture is literally the backbone of your organization — all your people systems and operational systems are enhanced or inhibited by your culture. Here are some valuable considerations:

• It’s how things really get done — Do you do things because “That’s the way we’ve always done them?” What happens when there’s a failure? Is there learning or punishment? There can be many disconnects between what leaders say they want and what really happens.
• It’s visible to your employees, customers and suppliers — Although staff members can tell you firsthand about how they experience culture, this is evident to everyone who interacts with your organization, from how inbound contacts are handled to problem-solving to the customer experience.
• Understand what’s working for you and against you — You may be unaware of how your organization’s management and leadership practices are enabling success or producing failure. Culture involves a complex set of interlocking components that involve everything from personal styles to systems, structures and even job design. Knowing what’s in the way of success presents the opportunity for meaningful change.
• It sets behavioral standards and developmental targets for all staff — These must be clearly spelled out for all job families and should be added to job descriptions and performance reviews.
• It helps to set hiring and promotion standards for fit — Bring culture into your hiring and promotion process, especially for key or strategic positions. I recommend hiring for fit to the culture you need to have to achieve success rather than the one you have if that one is not producing the desired results. 
• Mergers and Acquisitions — If you’re an acquirer, do you know what you are buying? Merging or managing dissimilar cultures can be a nightmare. Similarly, who would want to buy and assimilate an operation that is in the throes of dysfunction? Making your organization attractive to a buyer is a significant reason to consider your organizational culture.

The Challenge of Changing Culture

This is no simple task. Sometimes, it’s a matter of clarifying current expectations. Other times it’s a long-haul journey to re-think your organization’s operating systems and take a close look at your organization’s leadership and management skills and abilities. It may require a deep dive to uncover barriers to change. Here’s a brief overview of the process.

• Where to begin? Start by understanding what your current culture is — what expectations are management and staff operating under? Are these written down somewhere and communicated? Senior management often sees the current culture in a different light than other staff members.
• Determine the ideal culture that would support your organization’s vision, mission, values, business objectives and maximize your effectiveness. 
• Define the cultural behavioral expectations that would need to be implemented at all levels of your organization to achieve this ideal.
• Create a roadmap for aligning staff members with the new expectations. 
• Redesign your performance management system to align with and provide accountability to the new cultural expectations. Then ensure the rest of your policies and practices are in alignment with these.

Conclusion

Culture is a critical, yet often unaddressed component of a successful and sustainable business. The best strategic plan in the world can be rendered useless if the organization implementing it is not equipped to carry it out. Understanding the culture that you have is the first step toward building the organization you want.