Building The Leadership Ecosystem - Part 3
Observations
I find the culture of an organisation one of the most difficult areas to think about in the context of leadership.
In many ways it is very tangible, you can sense it in your first meeting, see it in communications and experience it when you take part in a workshop.
However, to my regret, I have wasted many, many hours and days facilitating conversations about the culture with little or no effect. Some of that is down to me but I also think it reflects the duality of its nature, that at the same time it is both tangible and ephemeral. I also think people interpret conversations about the culture in very different ways based on their own background and experience. This often results in more heat than light
As a result, I no longer facilitate workshops explicitly focused on the culture. However, I remain convinced that it is a very important leadership issue. Here’s my current thinking:
It is a significant asset for an organisation to have a strong culture aligned with their vision.
The culture is both a key enabler and constraint on leadership.
It needs focused and holistic attention, but that is best done by a very small core of the leadership, taking in to account the current state of the culture and what culture is required to enable the vision of the future.
The culture needs to be communicated in the simplest way possible (which will not be easy) and then worked out as an integral part of the key priorities of the business not as an explicit goal of its own.
The communication needs to reflect current reality as well as an aspirational view.
Listening to your colleagues and seeking their feedback on the culture is part of the leadership role. It is best done continuously and as part of natural conversations rather than ‘culture focus groups’.
You can nurture the culture so it develops over time, but you cannot make the change just because you declare it.
The behaviour of the Leadership Team is a key influence on the culture and is something that can be very explicitly focused upon. See Creating A High Performing Leadership Team and Setting The Leadership Rhythm.
Once you are reasonably comfortable that the culture is broadly aligned with where you want it to be, you can use communication to continually leverage and reinforce that. When it is misaligned, you will need to take a much more nuanced approach.
Framework
These are the areas I encourage my clients to think about.
Understand Your Existing Culture
There are many ways of doing this. When you first join there is a great opportunity to talk to many people inside and outside the business which should give you a strong sense of the culture.
Constantly seeking feedback will help keep your view current and grounded. Recent starters, external contacts who interact with the company and market commentators will all have an interesting view, which can be added to by regularly talking to people across the organisation, by reviewing lessons learnt at the end of key programmes / projects and by using formal surveys.
If you want a real test of the effectiveness of your culture, recruit in A* players and actively encourage them to give you direct feedback
I’d also encourage you to think about your own values and personality. The way you interpret the culture, will be heavily influenced by your own experience and perspective.
Once you have a good understanding of the existing culture this enables you to have a more realistic view of how the culture can be nurtured.
Understand What Great Looks Like
There is no such thing as an ideal culture. Our view will be influenced by:
Our own prejudices: mine are pace, boldness and pragmatism.
The global context eg: currently - diversity, wellbeing, flexibility and digitalisation (if that can be described as culture!).
Everlasting truisms which are difficult to argue with eg: integrity, honesty and trust.
However, none of these will matter unless they are:
Relevant to the future vision of the organisation and how it will compete.
Grounded in the reality of the organisation’s current culture.
Compelling enough for the senior leadership and colleagues to align behind.
Understood well enough to drive meaningful action.
The process of creating what great looks like is important but in my experience does not need to be complicated or extensive. I’d encourage an approach where a small core of the leadership develops a strong view but holds it lightly as it is tested out in the reality of organisational delivery. The real skill is evolving this view in the light of experience and then, once robust enough, leveraging it through communication and role modelling.
If your organisation is in the desirable position of already having a positive and powerful culture, then the leaders challenge is to make the most of this and ensure the culture stays relevant to a changing world. When done well, this becomes a virtuous cycle, eg recruits self-select in applying to the organisation, experienced leaders act as exemplars of the culture etc.
Act On It!
I like the idea that the culture is what you do, not what you say. Understanding your current and desired culture is only relevant if you act upon it.
If the culture is a clear impediment to performance, then there is a need to change. As mentioned above, I am not a fan of doing this explicitly, but would suggest focusing on the most significant levers. In this situation I would almost certainly start with changing the people.
If the culture is a strength of the business, then I think the challenge is to do everything you can to celebrate and reinforce it. When continually reinforced, a powerful and relevant culture becomes like a flywheel, generating momentum in the business and creating genuine competitive advantage. Sadly, this is rare in my experience.
Many businesses will believe their culture is neither a core strength or significant impediment. Intellectually I understand this, though practically I suspect that if it is not a strength then in reality it is an impediment and needs treating as such. However, I refer back to my opening statement in this section – focus on the culture at your own risk!
I chose the phrase, Nurture The Culture very deliberately. I believe any organisation needs to start with the culture it has and then nurture it towards some view of what great looks like. However deliberate that view, it cannot be achieved by a few bold steps and a linear plan. The culture is like a garden, you can plan all you want but nature will take its course, the successful gardener plants, weeds and waters but then sees what comes up and builds on that.
10 Top Tips
Nurturing The Culture
Talk about the culture in context – not as an entity in its own right.
Avoid culture programmes – less talk, more action that makes a difference.
Start with your own behaviour – the leaders are the most visible people in the organisation.
Leverage the leadership team – they set much of the culture.
If you can’t leverage the leadership team, change them! – no amount of talking will change the seriously non-aligned.
If your culture is a strength, leverage it! – it is an asset to be used.
If your culture is not a strength, change it! – it is probably an asset you can’t afford to be without!
Celebrate your cultural ambassadors – those that role model the culture naturally, should be valued highly.
Don’t shoot the messenger – you want direct and robust feedback.
Do the basics well – they make a difference ie: recruitment, induction, feedback, talent, reward, communication etc.
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