You Don't Need to Change Everything

Let's talk about a little-known secret in the world of culture change that often flies under the radar: when organizations set out to change their dominant culture, they’re not looking to toss everything out and start from scratch. Instead, they aim to blend new, desired cultural traits with the valuable ones they already have. It’s like adding new ingredients to a recipe—you want to enhance the dish without losing the flavors that already work.

The Balance Between Maintaining and Evolving Culture

When organizations aim to shift from one dominant culture type to another—say, from a Competitive culture to an Innovation culture, or from a Hierarchical culture to a Relationship culture—they’re not trying to erase their current culture. Instead, they’re enhancing and expanding their cultural traits to better align with their new goals, all while keeping the elements that still serve them well.

This approach is all about balance. The goal is to identify which existing cultural traits are effective and valuable and then add new traits that support the desired cultural shift. It’s crucial that these new traits complement the current ones rather than clash with them. For example, if a company wants to shift from a Hierarchical to an Innovation culture, they might retain their effective processes while introducing more collaborative and creative practices.

Integrating New Traits Without Conflict

The trick is to enhance the existing culture by integrating new traits that align with the desired culture type while preserving what’s already working. A complete overhaul can lead to resistance and confusion, so the focus should be on a thoughtful integration process.

Practical Insights and Applications

When planning for cultural change, here are some key steps to consider:

1. Identify Core Strengths: Find out what’s working well in the current culture and ensure these strengths are retained. These might be practices or values that contribute to success and satisfaction.
2. Select Complementary Traits: Choose new traits that align with your desired culture and that can mesh well with the existing ones. For example, adding collaborative elements to a Hierarchical culture can involve encouraging teamwork and cross-departmental projects.
3. Avoid Conflicting Traits: Make sure the new traits don’t conflict with the current successful aspects. For instance, fostering innovation should complement rather than undermine effective operational processes.
4. Communicate and Implement Gradually: Roll out changes in phases with clear communication to ease the transition and reduce resistance.

Reflecting on Culture Change

So, what’s the takeaway? Successful culture change isn’t about scrapping everything and starting fresh. It’s about enhancing and integrating new traits in a way that builds on existing strengths. This thoughtful approach helps create a smoother transition and supports long-term success in reaching your cultural goals.

As you move forward in your change initiatives, keep this in mind: preserving what works while thoughtfully introducing new elements is key to achieving a successful cultural transformation.

Russ Davis -

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