Conscious culture change

Every culture changes over time. They change to adapt to new pressures, they change to allow for new opportunities, they change because members of the group leave or enter, and they change for countless other reasons. The change that fascinates me is that which is conscious. How can an organization look inward and not just shift aspects of its operations or reorganize its structure, but change its very core - change the things that seem inevitable, the most subtle of things. Over the next few months, I'll be seeking out examples of such change and I look forward to sharing what I find.

Caleb

Design = Intent

We're all talking about design but what does it mean? And, how important is it to incorporate design into an organization's culture?

John Hockenberry explains that design is more than creative problem solving, using the Adobe suite, or reinventing the pen, it's having intent in what you do - values and focus and being thoughtful in your actions. These traits are crucial to a high performing culture. 

Polarities within self and company

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

I've been thinking about the balance that organizations must maintain to stay consistent and adapt. Just as a first rate intelligence is able to hold two (seemingly) opposing ideas in the mind at the same time, an organization's culture must balance the need for linear logical behavior that maintains structure and consistency with opportunistic multidimensional thinking that allows for growth and adaptation.

Much of the time, this polarity looks more like a struggle than it does a balance. I believe that highly functioning and successful leaders allow for an ebb and flow - a fluid movement between the need for consistent structure and change.

How will the battle in the workplace end?

Dag Hinrichs explains the constant battle between zombies and visionaries in corporate culture. Will it always be this way?

From TEDxDanubia 2011

To be high performing...

I've been reading, talking with friends and colleagues, and racking my brain to understand what it means to be, and what it takes to build, a high performing culture.

Below is a causal loop diagram based on my current thoughts of what the relationships are between the attributes, or variables, that define and must be present within a high performing organizational culture. If you're familiar with causal loop diagrams as a tool for understanding systems, you'll see that there are three reinforcing  loops. If you're wondering what the hell that means, I'll explain.

I believe that an organization can root its culture in any one of these attributes but must address them  all in order to build a truly high performing culture. Let's begin our story with trust, something I feel strongly about and while viewing this diagram and reading the explanation, this of the performance of an organization's culture as the vessel that holds this system.

If there is a high level of trust in an organization, or if level of trust increases, the ability of members within the organization to perform their job in a flexible manner increases. I like to think of flexibility in terms of the ability to bring one's personal strengths, ideas, or work style to a position. As an organization becomes more flexible to allow for individualization and to account for issues that arise, learning within the organization increases, and as we learn, we adapt, which ultimately leads to an organization's ability to last (lastability). The longer an organization lasts, when the preceding attributes are present, the more well being the culture creates for its members and as the members of the culture feel taken care of by its structure and systems, trust increases.

Ah yes, there are two attributes in the diagram that have not been discussed and they happen to be very important.

For an organizational culture to be high performing, it must produce results, as you see, almost all roads lead to results, and there must be some level of collective accountability for the work and the mission.

At this point, this explanation and understanding of what allows an organizational culture to be high performing is based on my own thoughts and conversations with those I respect. What I would LOVE, is your feedback and your thoughts on this. Does it make sense? Is there something missing? What would you add? What do your experiences tell you about what a culture needs to perform at a high level?

We'll continue this conversation in the coming weeks, dive into examples, and look deeper into each of these attributes.

Thanks for engaging!

-Caleb

Late night thoughts on what it takes to build a high performing culture

This image depicts my late night scribbles and an attempt to make sense of my thoughts on what it takes to build a high performing culture within in organization. A second iteration is coming soon.

What is Organizational Culture and Why Does it Matter?

Welcome!

For the next ten or so weeks, I'll be writing on the topic of organizational culture, how culture changes and transforms (within) organizations, and what this means for companies and their multiple bottom lines.

Before we dive in over the coming weeks, let's define organizational culture as something more than just the "culture of an organization."

What?

My first exposure to the concept of sustainability was in a cultural anthropology class that I was taking at a local community college during my junior year in high school. Because the concepts of anthropology have acted as a lens for the formation of my views on both sustainability and business, I will refer to the anthropological definition of culture, which is - the learned patterns of behavior and thought that help a group adapt to its surroundings.

Organization, on the other hand, is defined as - an administrative or functional structure and the people who work within that structure. For our purposes, we will mostly be looking at for-profit businesses.

Organizational culture, therefore, can be defined as - the learned patterns of behavior and thought that help a business adapt within a competitive market. The culture of an organization reflects the collective values and behaviors that contribute to the social and psychological environments that impact the performance and ultimate success of a business.

The fact that organizations have culture probably seems extremely obvious but it is the subtle nuances and vast intricacies of these cultures, how they are constantly changing and transformed by the people and physical environments that influence them, and the ease in which those on the inside of these organizations fail to realize that their culture can be consciously and proactively changed, and how, may not be so obvious.

Why? 

I believe we have the choice to be conscious of the cultures in which we live and work. As we have the  increasing opportunity to align our personal values with our livelihood, our responsibility to take a proactive approach to find innovative ways to improve the structures that make us money and impact the world we depend on, also increases. Our ability to shape the world around us and the success of our ventures depend on our being conscious of and taking responsibility for our collective behavior, our culture.

Looking forward to diving deeper on this topic with you!