Personally, I never thought I would be ever writing about “culture”. When people talk culture I cant help but think….”What part, element or variable of the culture are we talking about ?”.
“Its likely its the culture – that’s the problem” (culture expert).
“What part, element or variable of the culture are we talking about” (Me).
“You know…the culture bla bla bla…” (Culture expert).
“NO NO NO…I dont know what you are actually talking about”…(Me).
Can you relate…I mean has anyone noticed that many so called culture experts cant pinpoint the problem and therefore will never be able to provide an effective solution.
So what is it:
The Truth is we have all seen and heard 100s of definitions of culture but my favorite is this one penned by William Lindstrom, Co-Founder & CEO of The Culture Think Tank.
“The Secret Ingredient of my secret ingredient soup is…NOTHING.” Mr. Ping – Kung Fu Panda
At its fundamental core, culture is nothing more than the collection of behaviors of the people within the workforce. That‘s it. There is nothing more. Culture is about behaviors; and the strength and weakness of an organization’s culture is determined by how the collection of behaviors supports an organization’s objectives, impacts the well-being of its people, and drives performance.
The funny thing about culture is it isn’t complicated. There is no magical solution, black magic, or secret recipe needed to deliberately build and sustain a high-performing culture.
If culture is defined by behaviors, then leaders have a means to directly impact their organization’s culture by focusing on the behaviors that strengthen their organization’s culture and avoiding the behaviors that weaken it. Although simple, it isn’t easy. Organizations continue to struggle with culture challenges.
Thank you William.
Now why do organizations struggle with cultural challenges? Is it because they have a so called culture expert on hand who cant pinpoint the problem and therefore never be able to provide an effective solution. Hey…who said “Correct“?
Its very likely the Business Leaders or Management demonstrating poor behaviors which sets the bar for the quality of the culture. The cause of this poor behavior could be from many sources. But there are a few likely culprits which if actioned, can be eliminated or at least reduced to the point where culture change (improvement) becomes inevitable.
Got Culture problems? then contact HR Chief. We know the culprit causes that will likely be lurking in the dark corners and can provide a non turbulent plan for culture transformation.
Paul Marshall | Partner | HR Chief | FCPHR
With decades of Business and HR experience a HR Pro, corporate trainer, author and a welcomed and trusted business partner with commercial awareness and expertise in people, performance and HR capabilities .
Author of:
103 Golden Tips to Turbo Charge your Employees Skyrocket Productivity and Get More Output
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