Time to Question your Culture and Behaviours…
We know what culture eats for breakfast but it will also eat your wellbeing initiatives, a new CRM and digital transformation plans before lunch if you let it.
With this in mind it’s surprising how little time is spent on programmes that go deep into helping teams and organisations create a culture to support strategic goals and enable everyone to thrive.
Culture often starts with values, although often these are just words that are open to interpretation and pretty meaningless unless the underpinning behaviours behind them are explicitly expressed.
If I was to come to your meetings, your office, your home (okay, not your home that would be weird) what would I see? What are the behaviours, your day-day ways of working that make your organisation what it is - are they in line with your vision, your purpose and values?
Take ‘honest’ - one of the most popular values - if you didn’t have it would you be dishonest? Or are you ‘radically honest’? The truth on all counts, even if it does hurt…which at least offers clarity and differs from what really should be an expectation.
When you are clear on defining your behaviours, the ones you promote as well prohibit you are setting the foundations for your culture. It’s not about a list of rules but how people will act almost on auto-pilot.
Is sitting in a meeting with the boss or colleagues smiling, nodding in agreement a behaviour you’d like to promote? Perhaps this is even thought of as ‘professional’. I would suggest that it isn’t.
If individuals are defensive to being questioned and act as though they have all the answers, this should set off warning signals. Although it’s not only organisational leaders that behave in this fashion – many managers can fall into the trap of ‘being in charge’ and having a ‘this is how we do things round here’ approach.
Asking open questions and incorporating them into what you do is an important skill. Colleagues should see them as a mark of respect when you use them – that you are curious and interested. Your voice should be respected and your ideas valued. The leadership team should absolutely welcome being questioned and be flexible enough to change if ‘a-ha’ moments are realised through this process.
Being able to question and challenge senior staff members and feeling confident to fully be yourself are all components of psychological safety. This is a ‘culture topic’ that has had a lot of focus recently and is a key factor in high performing teams. I think you can get to psychological safety, not necessarily by starting with it, but by diving into the behaviours and actions you want to promote and those you should prohibit.
Culture is a hungry beast – it can easily determine your success as much as strategy – but it can be a wonderful thing if you get it right and are clear on your behaviours and how these fit with your vision, values and strategic goals.
What do you think?