Leader's Toolkit: Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model for Cultural Cultivation

Imagine walking into a new organization. You listen, observe, and slowly begin to grasp the unspoken rules that guide how people behave and communicate. You notice what is encouraged and what is subtly frowned upon.?

This silent and invisible code isn’t an individual isolated experience; it’s the culture of the organization shaping your perceptions and actions. Each choice you make, and every interaction you witness, adds a brick to the intricate structure of this culture.?

But what if these individual behaviors could be mapped, understood, and influenced systematically? This essay delves into how behaviors form the very essence of organizational culture and introduces a framework that helps us navigate and transform it. I call it the “Behavioral Dynamics Model.”.

Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model is a tool for leaders to recognize where individuals stand in their cultural journey and offer guidance on supporting them toward more constructive behaviors.

Before we delve deeper into the model itself, let’s first try to define the esoteric notion of Organizational Culture.

Let’s (try to) Define a Perspective on the Definition of culture.

Organizational culture is an elusive term, it’s there everywhere, we all can experience it but still can’t pinpoint it to one specific thing.?

With my experience across different industries, geographies, and organizations and functions, I internalized “Culture” as a set of behaviors that are consistently observed and experienced and hence unconsciously exercised when people interact, communicate, make decisions, and perform their roles.?

The Fundamental Building Block of the Model: Behaviors

If you want to understand an organization, start by looking at how its people behave every day.?

Mission statements or company slogans can’t define organizational culture—it's built through every conversation, every decision, and every behavior.?

The behavior of the individuals in the organization is a tangible proxy to the intangible, invisible, and abstract notions of organizational culture.

Understanding the nuances of an organization's culture often begins with subtle realizations: “Oh! I now understand how things work here!” or “This approach might not be effective in this environment.” Each time you make such mental notes or converse with someone on these lines, you absorb the organization’s culture.

These mental notes/experiences/reflections, made in the course of everyday interactions, shape your perception of the organizational culture. Over time, these observations and reflections, influence how perceive things, our thinking, our behavior, and our decision-making, framing how we engage with colleagues and perform our roles.

The Structure of the Model: How Behaviors Dynamics Drive Culture?

The Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model fundamentally answers two questions: Are people under consideration exercising the “right” behaviors and are those behaviors being promoted?

Answers to those two questions map the individuals in one of the four Quadrants to understand their current standing in the cultural journey and offer guidance on supporting them toward more constructive behaviors.

“Right,” behaviors are the actions you would like to drive in the organization considering organizational values, the organization’s mission, organization challenges, and priorities.?

“Wrong” behaviors, simply put, are the obstacles to exercising the “right” behaviors.

Quadrant-1 Culture Building: People in this Quadrant are the torchbearers of cultural building. They help in building the culture not only by adopting to “right” behaviors themselves but also by motivating others to adapt to “right” behaviors with the necessary encouragement and support.

Quadrant-4 Culture Regression: People in this Quadrant are the most detrimental to the progress of building the culture. They exhibit diametrically opposite behaviors compared to people in Quadrant 1.?

They not only exhibit “wrong” behaviors themselves but also encourage and promote those “wrong” behaviors among others. This double whammy retrogrades the progress of cultural builders and also pushes people away from even experimenting with the “right” behaviors.

Quadrant-2 Culture Transition: In a typical organization, the majority of the people could fall into this Quadrant. People experiment with the “right” thinking and behaviors but when those behaviors are not reciprocated, encouraged, or incentivized then these people often feel confused.?

They face the dilemma of trying with resilience or giving up by taking the path of least resistance.

People in this Quadrant are the most vulnerable because they can transition to Quadrant-1 (Culture Builders) and Quadrant-4 (Culture Regression). They are genuinely attempting to adapt to the “right” behaviors and with reciprocal encouragement they can move to Quadrant-1 however if those behaviors are not promoted they unconsciously fall back to Quadrant-4.?

?Quadrant-3 Culture Building: This Quadrant is as important as Quadrant-1 because acknowledging and discouraging the “wrong” behavior is as important as encouraging the “right” behaviors. Continual feedback and guidance on alternate behavior could help people make the transition from Quadrant 3 to Quadrant 1.

The Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model in a Nutshell

The Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model hypothesizes that organizational culture is not an elusive entity but the product of collective behaviors and attitudes. Leaders can foster a culture of growth and innovation by identifying and nurturing behaviors that align with organizational values.?

The Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model serves as a valuable tool to reflect on one’s behavior as well as evaluate the position of your colleagues and team members in the cultural journey and offers guidance on supporting them toward more constructive behaviors.

How Do I Understand More About the Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model?

This first essay in the multipart essay series introduces the basics of the Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model. The subsequent parts explore different dimensions and nuances of the model, Integration with Other Models, the role of leadership, and strategic interventions needed to operationalize the model.?

Share your thoughts, ideas, and critiques on the Behavior-Culture Dynamics Model. Stay tuned for the next tranche.?