The Measurable Myth Of Company Culture

It is not uncommon to encounter the opinion that culture is in essence, intangible. Therefore, it often moves down in the order of organisational priorities, until it cannot be ignored.

The bottom line? Culture has a significant organisational impact.

Look no further than the recent media coverage surrounding the QPS, Mackay Hospital, and other organisations being held to account for their failure to uphold standards, make effective decisions, and invest in addressing cultural issues.?

It seems that while it is a topic that is spoken about more frequently, culture remains an abstract concept that is misunderstood by many, considered difficult to measure, and rarely leveraged most effectively.

At HENRY REED, we use the analogy of a Rubik’s Cube to highlight the critical, stabilising role culture plays within organisations, and its connection to organisational effectiveness.

Culture, as depicted by the centre tile on all faces of a Rubik’s Cube, is the unmoving centre of an organisation and the core element that aligns behaviours, permeates governance frameworks, impacts human experience and supports the realisation of business goals. If you look at successful organisations, you will notice they all hold culture as the strong foundation at the heart of their operations.

Solving a Rubik’s Cube is a simple process if you know the secret and apply the right strategies. The same can be said for tackling and mastering culture and leadership challenges, with targeted, sequential, and well executed actions having the greatest transformational impact. This approach requires key culture elements to be clearly defined, widely communicated, well understood, and enforced for impact to be both meaningful and measurable.

For too long, operations or business as usual have been prioritised over culture and leadership. This is a huge mistake, and the result is increased risk to people and organisations, failure to deliver on strategic outcomes, and in many cases, significant physical and psychological damage to good people.

So, if your goal is to improve your competitive advantage, increase returns, operate with lower risks, and build greater synergy across all areas of your organisation, the connection is culture.

If you have concerns about your organisation’s culture or need help to better understand and measure it, our team are here to make organisational culture and leadership strategies relatable and actionable to optimise your organisation. Call HENRY REED on 1300 266 995 to take action today.