What is organisation culture? And what is the role of leadership teams in influencing culture?
I am often asked about organisation culture and what leadership teams can do to establish the culture they want in their organisation.
Google tosses up more than a million articles on organisation culture in less than a second. So you may understand my trepidation as I add one more. The definition that makes sense to me, is 'the way we do things around here'....in other words, the way we behave and interact with one another. It also means that any work with culture is then within our influence.
Culture, even a fragment of it, is complex. And of course there are many factors that influence culture.
So what are some of the influences in how we do things in the groups we are in as leaders?
I have identified three levers that leadership teams can use in shaping culture.
Leaders can respond to and integrate the shifting contexts of their organisation and provide direction to those around them.
Leaders can take responsibility for the emotional quality of their relationships with one another and with their staff.
Why do I take this approach?
One key concept for me is "Think globally, act locally." This became popular when the environmental crises emerged and I see it is an analogy that provides a systems perspective of influence. Personally, I like working with the dynamic relationship of overview and detail, big picture and immediate action.
This is reflectd in the three levers above with which leaders can directly influence culture.
Between now and May I will be uploading three or four podcasts each month.
Gives a general concept of organisation culture and identifies three levers leaders can use in changing an organisation's culture.
Talks about context and how leaders can help their staff understand context in successfully navigating change.
Proposes the significant influence that the relationships among senior leaders have on the rest of their organisation's culture - and provides four guidelines that leaders can use to positively influence culture.
Shares an example of how senior leaders might shift the culture of their team/organisation by shifting their behavior.