Building and cultivating the right culture should be a strategic priority

Culture exists whether we like it or not. When we bring people together in systems,?a culture inevitably forms. We establish norms, rules, and boundaries: "This is how we do things here." The real question is, do you want to build, manage and cultivate it,?or let it control you??

This month's BIASED BRAIN ask:?How important is it for the senior leadership?team to?build and cultivate?the culture?within the company?.

If we don't approach things consciously—and "consciously" is truly the key word here—automatic behaviour takes over, and an?unproductive culture might arise.

1. Removing the Lift Repairman

Senior leadership really must be fully committed to the changes that need to take place. You can’t just stay above it all. A cultural shift must be enforced by the highest levels of leadership for it to be effectively absorbed by the organisation.

And that's often a significant challenge. We can conduct workshops, discussions, and training sessions, but when it comes to day-to-day actions, it’s crucial for senior leadership to step in and demonstrate,?'That kind of behaviour is simply not acceptable here'.

An example:?

A friend of ours works at a company that has a?zero-tolerance policy?for derogatory comments, particularly about women and LGBTQ+ individuals.? The CEO and a group of employees was walking through the premises and overheard a man, who was fixing a lift, make?a crude comment?about an employee having ‘big tits.' The CEO immediately asked the repairman to leave and had his secretary call the lift company to send a different repairman. This kind of action—being willing to address such a conflict head-on—is uncomfortable for everyone involved. Even those standing nearby feel uneasy because it’s a direct confrontation. No one enjoys that. But it is?necessary if you want to change a culture.

1. Ask: What kind of behaviour do we tolerate among ourselves in the leadership team? Maybe it is tolerated not to answer emails or say thank you or not deliver on things you have agreed on??
2. Ask: Are those behaviours reflected in the organisation?? What irritates you about the organisation might be some of the same behaviours you tolerate in the leadership team.
3. Ask: Are those behaviours beneficial to our overall strategic goals? If not, can you demand that the organisation change them if you tolerate them in your own team?

"The task of nurturing and changing culture is an important responsibility of the CEO; it has to be led from the top. If you don't believe it, don't do it. If you let the culture shape itself, it will represent just one more 'unknown' to deal with, albeit an important one."?

Professor Emeritus James L. Heskett"

2. Culture is crucial for performance - New, extensive study from Duke and Columbia Universities

Massive business failures and huge successes.?Corporate?culture is responsible for both, according to almost?2,000 CEOs and CFOs around the globe. Executives overwhelmingly indicate that?an effective corporate culture is essential?for a company to thrive in the modern business world. Watch the video on the study.

3. This month's article

The title of the article is a bit misleading, but read it and be inspired. This is the first paragraph: "Here’s how organizational culture might have been handled in the past: The CEO commissions the Human Resources department to produce an effective company culture. HR designs a campaign to tout a mission statement and core values that the CEO and senior management developed. HR also implements some employee perks like free snacks in the break room or monthly birthday celebrations. Maybe they also field an annual employee engagement survey and report results back to the CEO. And then with their culture-building to-do lists completed, the CEO and HR move on to other priorities."?Read article

“The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening”?

Edgar Schein

About HEXES

Supporting Leaders & Teams

We help implement changes in culture and behaviour. We are experienced consultants with a non- reverent approach to theories and methods. We address both human and organisational dynamics that supports authentic leadership and collaboration in a way that has the power to inspire real, sustainable change. Years of work in complex settings have shown us what works and what doesn't while supporting leaders and teams in their environment.