#1 Culture Change

Organisations don't transform. People do.?

As I've started my master @ HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich , I decided I would document and share my aha-moments. Collective learning seems to pay off, so I thought, why not put it to practice.

Here are some insights from a recent group work on Culture Change.

Culture, culture, culture?

Corporate culture is the basis, the humus, so to speak, that creates and opens up the possibility space for companies: innovation, customer orientation, trust, appreciation and efficiency, says Josef Herget.

Culture styles

Strategy and culture are among the most important levers available to leaders in their ongoing efforts to maintain the viability and effectiveness of their organizations, according to Groysberg, Lee, Price & Cheng in?Harvard Business Review.

As-is, to-be state

Culture needs to be made tangible. Only what is visible can be managed. Several methods can help emerge the current and future culture: Cameron's Competing Values Framework (1), Barrett's Cultural Transformation Tools (2), Herget's Culture Diamond and Maturity Model (3), New Work Explorer set of cards (4).

Implementation

Based on Wilber's Integral Theory, we can conclude that to change an organisation's culture, the playground has four angles. Every individual has her.his own belief system (invisible), which define behaviour and attitude (visible). As a team is made up of various individuals they thus shape the group's values and habits (invisible), which end up forming the organisation's infrastructure and interactions (visible). Which agle to tackle first doesn't have a straithforward answer to me and needs to be considered carefully.

Change management approaches, such as Prosci's ADKAR, have integrated the above aspects by putting forward: to make a change, win the heart (emotions), teach the head (competences), enable the hands (practice). Again, in which order to address the opportunities can be discussed.

Dos and Don'ts

• Start with Why
• Allow transparency about goals, ways of proceeding and support
• Cultivate flow and celebrate successes
• Don't command culture
• Hidden agendas are a bad idea
• Don't ask for too much, at once

Findings from the group discussions on 25.08.2023 

| CULTURE CHANGE
- is a lot of work 
- needs a clear to-be vision
- should always be part of discussions on (any) change
- needs the right people to lead it
- is more than a list of values        

My thanks go to Marc Pfyffer CMC , Jean Pierre Kuhn and C.A.S. colleagues Boti Tabani, Vera Frischmuth , Delia Hüsler , who were part of this learning journey.