What is Culture…Really (Culture is Learned)

Earlier this year I was in the USA speaking at a conference about culture. On a lunch break, I decided to take a stroll through Times Square and saw something not uncommon to find in New York City – a queue of people. But it was what they were lined up for that caught my attention.?

Nothing.?

Well, not all of them. Let me explain.

As I passed the back of the line, I heard people asking one another what the line was for. Nobody had an answer. All they knew was that it was exciting and they didn’t want to miss out so the joined the back. The energy was palpable. Were they going to meet a celebrity? Were they going to get something free? Nobody had a clue, but they all wanted in so the line continued to grow.

As I approached the front of the line it became clear.

They were waiting in line for...a sightseeing bus. And not a single person at the front of the line looked excited about the wait.?

People saw a line and they wanted to be included. Or more accurately, they didn't want to?miss out.?#FOMO (the fear of missing out)

We human beings are creatures of belonging. We want to fit in and be included. We rarely want to feel on the outer or like we’re missing out.

As leaders, it’s important to remember that culture has a social learning element.?

This means that we are consistently looking to the people around us and asking the question ‘what does it take for me to belong on this team?’

My good friend Fiona Robertson excellently unpacks this concept in her?book?exploring culture as the ‘rules of belonging’?

Culture is learned and dynamic. We are regularly observing the responses of those around us to better understand how to interpret the culture.?

Think back to how you learned what was acceptable and unacceptable in the culture of your home growing up. There’s a good chance you learned through experiences where certain behaviours were celebrated and others were confronted. You learned the importance of saying ‘Thank you’ with encouragement when you remembered and reprimand when you forgot.?

Because culture has a social learning element, we need to consider the behaviours that are celebrated and those which are confronted, because they teach people about the culture of your team.

• When you or the people on your team?confront?behaviours you communicate?“we want?less?of this”
• When you or the people on your team?celebrate?behaviours you communicate?“we want?more?of this”

Also consider how the conversations you?‘don’t have’?can unintentionally create a culture you?‘don’t want’.?

• When you or the people on your team?tolerate?behaviours you communicate?“we are ok with this”??

We take notice of what the people around us do. We want to know what it takes to belong. We look to leaders and role models to not just tell us the way but show us the way.

Culture is learned. Be a great teacher.

Here’s a question to reflect on this week:

What would an external person learn about the culture of our team simply by spending time with them?