The importance of organisational culture and two simple steps to nurture it. Ever since I got my degree in social and cultural anthropology I’ve been interested in culture. And, if as Peter Drucker told us over 20 years ago, that it eats strategy for breakfast, why is it that some companies get it so wrong?
The ‘culture equation’ can be solved in two simple steps. But first, what are the three key reasons why culture still eats strategy for breakfast?
Reason 1: A healthy culture helps people grow.
The main reason why culture eats strategy for breakfast is that a strong and healthy culture supports the growth of your team members. And to state the obvious; as a leader your number one priority is to support the growth of your team members (bar the obvious humanitarian reason, remember they’re the ones doing the work).
Individuals become the best versions of themselves when they are in an environment where they can be themselves. In other words, an environment of psychological safety where they can bring more of themselves to the workplace. By creating and nurturing a strong and supportive culture you create that environment 💥.
The dangerous flipside of this is if you have a culture that does not support your individual team members then you are harming them. Harming their mental health.
The bottom line is that if you are supporting an unhealthy workplace culture, then you are harming the very people you have been put in a position to help. So, we shouldn’t need any other reasons to recognise the importance of a healthy culture. However, there are other reasons, and the one below is one that is most often given.
Reason 2: Organisations are complex.
Often organisations have matrix structures and teams deal with complex situations and challenges that can take effort and time to solve. Due to this complexity, a strong and positive culture will ensure that your team operates and behaves in a way that is aligned with your organisational values and ways of working. This is important because when they’re deep in the swamp and not sure how to get out, they choose the best path. The path that squarely lines up with your norms of behaviour and values.
A simple example of this in action is that if you have a supportive culture, and one of your values is collaboration, then when the sh#t hits the fan for one of your team members, the expectation is that rather than going solo to try and fix the problem they reach out for help.
Reason 3: Relationships are everything.
Business is all about relationships. And in a relationship the more connected you feel to each other, the more you enjoy being in the relationship. The more you enjoy your work relationships, the more you enjoy work (duh). The more you enjoy work, the better work you do. The better work you do, the better results you get!
A healthy culture develops and supports healthy relationships, which ultimately deliver healthy profits. Enough said.
Now let’s shift gears a little and discuss the two steps any organisation can take to solve the ‘culture equation’:
Step 1: Take culture as seriously as your financial metrics and goals.
This is a classic case of too many companies focusing on the ‘what’ rather than the ‘how’. The 'how' is always more important than the 'what' - the end never justifies the means.
The great thing is, if you get the culture equation right the means deliver the end 📈. I.e., supporting and monitoring norms of behaviour and organisational values, gives you the best chance of achieving those all-important financial metrics that shareholders care so much about.
Oh, and you’ll have more fun doing it. Fun? Yup, fun… Work’s supposed to be fun, right? And working alongside people who agree with your mission and have similar values to you, is much more fun than the alternative.
The key takeaway is that great cultures deliver great results, so prioritise your culture over everything 😊.
Step 2: Treat culture like those financial metrics and goals; by monitoring and measuring it.
Culture isn’t something that you create, then slap a ‘Our Culture and Values Poster’ on the wall in the office and forget about until the CEO stands up at the quarterly Town Hall and reads off the ‘culture card’ before the donuts are handed out 🍩.
Once created, culture must be reinforced and nurtured. You monitor and measure it so it can grow. How do we do that? Implement your own version of the 10 steps below - if you don’t already have a version of - that any organisation can successfully embed:
Build culture into your hiring process. When hiring new team members, I recommend prioritising cultural and values-fit over everything.
Early on, keep the ‘culture focus’ by including culture sessions in your onboarding process.
Use visual cues / reminders (both digital and physical) to reinforce key cultural and behavioural messaging.
Create safe feedback opportunities / communication channels for team members to share their questions or concerns about cultural / behavioural elements and issues.
Create a communication cadence that shares stories celebrating culture.
Include culture / values as part of your performance development and management process (from top to bottom).
Try short-term / fun rewards for team members that exhibit behaviours that reinforce our values and healthy culture.
Distribute the responsibility for nurturing culture throughout the organisation.
During company-wide events start with and ensure culture is covered and celebrated.
Have standalone cultural events that reinforce and build your values and culture (can be digital and in-person)
I guarantee that if you do the above 10 steps, your culture will blossom, and importantly support the growth of your people and business. And whilst it takes time and effort to create, build, and nurture culture, if like Peter Drucker, you believe that culture eats strategy for breakfast, it’s worth it 🔥🚀🎯.
Thanks as always for your time, hopefully you enjoyed this article. Feel free to share your own ideas or input about nurturing organisational culture. And, if you’re interested in having a chat about your culture you know where to reach me 💻📱.
Cheers, Gareth
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