Culture by Design or by Default
Culture is talked about in almost every business environment but talking doesn’t change the culture. I liken it to Will Rogers’ famous quip, “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” Fortunately you can change your business culture!
It is interesting to realize that when you put any group of people together, no matter if it is a few or many, within a very short time they begin to form a culture. Organizational Culture is defined as the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, age, or other group of people. In the gathering of a group of people they quickly begin to develop a way of relating to each other and to establish what is acceptable to this group and what isn’t, and they begin to function within these parameters; their culture. Their culture was established by default.
Your business has a culture! We often find that most cultures were established by default. Culture is very powerful and in a business where there is a counter-productive culture it is extremely damaging and can be difficult to change because it is our human nature to follow the path of least resistance and to resist change. These negative cultures waste time, energy, and opportunities for growth.
If you are just starting your business let us help you create a Culture by Design.
If you are struggling with a default Culture that has non-responsibility; back-biting; blame; gossip; and overall negative energy let us help you change this to a Culture by Design.
The 12 Attributes Of A Strong Culture
One of the ways businesses can begin to manage their culture is to gather feedback from their teams to see how aligned they are with the current and/or desired culture.
A good way to do this is to define the desired cultural attributes and then measure them through an employee survey.
Here is a list of 12 cultural attributes that you can use as a start:
Respect/Fairness
Trust/Integrity
Change/Adaptability
Results Orientation
Teamwork
Employee Engagement
Responsibility/Accountability
Learning Opportunities
Meaning/Purpose
Communication
Decision Making
Goals/Strategy