Building your organisation’s culture starts with two questions:
- What are your goals and your strategy for delivering them?
- Does your current culture support those goals and plans?
In my book, “Culture Won”, Chapter 2 explains how the initial goals, business model and strategy of Advanced RISC Machines Limited were created.
Then Chapter 3 describes how the culture was created with intention, building on the founders’ cultural norms then evolving as the organisation grew.
The culture that grew and flourished resonated with the business model and business strategy: collaboration inside and outside the business and a hunger to deliver more. However, your organisation’s cultural needs may well be different from Arm’s.
Here are some of the key actions I believe are needed to build the right culture at the right time for your organisation:
- Perform a culture audit
Get a clear picture of an organisation’s current true culture – easy if there are ten people in one office but more challenging if you are a large, multi-site organisation. However, it’s vital to take the time to understand what you’re starting with, the good and the bad.
- Know what you need
Some cultural statements will be needed to resonate with the strategy you’re building. What culture is going to support your success and how different is it from what you’ve got now?
- Start acting out the chosen ‘cultural statements’
Culture doesn’t change overnight and will rarely shift just by printing some nice ‘Our values’ posters. You need people in positions of influence to walk the talk: people watch what leaders do and listen to what they say in everyday situations. Make sure the lived culture matches the professed culture – the leadership shadow will be significant.
- Value Delivery and Behaviour equally.
Delivering outcomes is clearly important for any organisation, but when poor behaviour creates collateral damage, what impact does this have?
Nobody wants sour milk in their coffee – however good the coffee.
Leaders need to intervene: coaching of individuals may be enough, or they may require significant development or, worst case, moving someone out of their current role. A healthy culture needs cultivation: encouraging the good and weeding out the bad.
- Evolve and Adapt
Culture will need to adapt and evolve as the organisation changes, especially if core strategies change. However, new types of employee or opening offices in new locations and countries will inevitably cause some change.
Keep re-assessing what culture is needed for the organisation’s success. The best you can hope for is right enough, most of the time.
Finally
What is the culture you will experience in an organisation?
…The one created by you and your colleagues!