Why Understanding Your Organizational Culture Matters
Updated: Feb 28, 2023
Peter Drucker famously said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." As leaders, we cannot realize our strategic aspirations without teams to execute on the goals with rigor and passion. Research has determined that toxic work cultures can depress productivity 40% while effective cultures can increase productivity by 20% and positive cultures increase productivity between 30% - 40%. So on its face, ensuring that you have an effective to positive culture is an important element of running your business and realizing your goals.
But what is culture? It is how we collectively think about and do our work. It is how we show up, how we interact with one another, our customers; how we collaborate, how we face and solve problems. In short, it is the set of behavioral norms that our organization has and reinforces. It is critical that there is an understanding of what culture you hope to have and what the state of the culture is in the current moment in order to ensure that your business objectives can be met.
So, what constitutes positive organizational culture?
There are many nuances in positive organizational culture, but there are some key pillars.
Core values and the observable behaviors that demonstrate them Core values underlie our work, how we interact with each other, and which strategies we employ to fulfill our mission. However, core values are just descriptive words without providing a road map that describe in a real and tangible way how those principles show up in the world. For each core value, there must be observable behaviors that are succinct and clear that demonstrate upholding the value. For example, if one of your core values is Humility, some observable behaviors would be, "consistently takes responsibility for mistakes," "receives critical feedback openly, without defense, to learn and grow," "demonstrates the ability to recognize and reflect on biases and values by seeking to understand others' points of view."
Leadership living the values Organizational culture is a top-down endeavor and will not be improved with a "Do as I Say, Not as I Do" philosophy. Behaviors demonstrated and reinforced by leadership drive culture and trust in core values. It is imperative for all leaders to communicate authentically and humbly to their teams and work to live by and be held accountable to the established core values and their observable behaviors.
Understanding expectations While innovation and change are necessary ingredients for success, so too is consistency and every employee understanding what is expected of them and what success looks like for them. This requires organization and authentic connection and communication regularly.
Authentically value your employees The American Psychological Association conducted a survey that showed that employees who feel valued at work have greater performance. However, valuing your employees is a personalized endeavor. Understanding their motivators and the way that they optimally receive thanks and appreciation at work is critical to the value being perceived as authentic and therefore meaningful.
Does Your Organization Have The Type of Culture It Wants?
Let's face it, when running an organization, we all want to do things together, first, right, and fast. But, depending upon where we are in our organizational lifecycle or the type of business we are running, we may need to prioritize different things. But we now know that we can get there better and faster if we prioritize culture.
Spend time with your team from board to front line employee and reflect on the adjectives that you would like to have describe the workplace, the organization, the feeling of being a part of the team. Be thoughtful about your business, your customers, the talent you need to attract, your brand in order to ensure that it aligns with your business objectives.
Now, you know what you want, but do you know what you have? Authentically and critically assessing current culture is an important foundational step to achieving the culture of your dreams. Take the time to do a deep dive and gather feedback both internally but also with external stakeholders, customers, partners, vendors.
Once a baseline understanding of current culture is understood, develop a deep understanding of any gaps that exist between your existing and desired culture to begin your transformation.
How We Assess Organizational Culture
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