Culture: It’s Not Just WHAT You Do, But WHO You Are

If you’re trying to eat healthy, it actually feels better to think of yourself as a healthy person, rather than just focusing on the things you can and can’t eat. Connecting to an identity is much easier (and more rewarding) than following a list of things to do. Research also supports this approach.

The same goes for culture. Sure, we can say we want a mindset of A and B, along with key behaviors of X, Y and Z. However, it’s much more effective to choose an identity that is important to our organization and then connect our desired mindset and behaviors with this identity.

Why? Because when we form an identity, our brains create more meaning to the associated behaviors… and our brains prefer meaning over lists. An identity is aspirational and promotes belonging. It’s something people want to rally around and become a part of… which also makes it one heck of a recruiting tool!

But wait, this is not about creating clones. In fact, when I work with organizations, we ensure individuals feel a personal connection to an identity that resonates uniquely with them. For example, if your identity is to be a creator, some people may see this as being a builder, while others see it as being a creative, or an artist. Either way, individuals get to incorporate an authentic piece of themselves within the identity, which creates a stronger, lasting connection to the culture.

Leaders – you may think it’s your job to design this identity for your organizations. Hold off.....and ask your individual contributors or a dedicated team of folks “on the ground” to work on this. They will come back with ideas that will light people up. Plus, it will mean much more to your people when they are part of creating it, right from the beginning.