This Isn’t Who We Are
“But, this isn’t who we are!”
How many times have you heard this statement over the years? This seems to be the go-to response from political, faith-based, education, community, and business leaders whenever a negative event occurs, or an embarrassing statement is made. The speaker wants us to believe that the respective sexist, racist, homophobic, anti- (name the faith or culture), or domestic terrorist act is the exception, not the rule. The implication is that only the perpetrator of the terrible action or offensive words think or believe as they do, as individuals, and that the larger community believes and thinks differently.
My question to the response is usually, “Seriously? And where do you think the individual learned her/his/their beliefs and determined that their actions were appropriate?” Individuals usually reflect the culture in which they live. Yes, this is a simplistic statement and there is always the argument of nature vs nurture. Add to that, mindset.
Relate this social construct more closely to business culture. Your business culture is who you are! If you are the business founder or owner, your business culture is a reflection of you whether you intentionally set the culture, or it evolved because of (or in spite of) you. Culture happens whether you want it to or not. If you want your organization to reflect your vision, values, and what you want your employees and customers to see and feel, be proactive with creating your corporate culture. Be intentional so that “it IS who we are”.
How do you discover — and take steps to assert — who you are, your organizational culture? An important method is through a culture assessment, which is a process that helps organizations differentiate between their ideal and real cultures. This includes an organization’s expectations, core values, philosophy, and the behavior of the employees associated with a particular organization.
SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) submits that organizational culture can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including leadership behaviors, communication styles, internally distributed messages, and corporate celebrations. Given that culture comprises so many elements, it is not surprising that terms for describing specific cultures vary widely. Some commonly used terms for describing cultures include aggressive, customer-focused, innovative, fun, ethical, research-driven, technology-driven, process-oriented, hierarchical, family-friendly, and risk-taking.
One of our strategic partners, The Shuler Group, uses a proprietary culture assessment called the Company Climate Inventory. They explain on their website that, “We use our proprietary Company Climate Inventory to determine how employees and management feel about their roles and the organization as a whole, and how that relates to the health and productivity of the company.” Their inventory allows you, as organizational leaders, to get a sense of how your employees view their roles and the culture at your company, and what they see as company challenges. This inventory also reveals what your staff considers to be their personal challenges, whether they feel fulfilled, how they interact with their colleagues, and more. After such an assessment process, you then work with them on creating the culture you want your organization to reflect.
As your workplace and workspace evolve to be relevant in a changing landscape after two years of Covid-19 pandemic experiences, consider examining who you want to be as an organization and be proactive with setting intentions for creating that culture. Let’s have a conversation about the resources and processes we, and our partners, have available to help you navigate the cultural landscape you need to shape for moving forward productively and profitably in the months ahead.
Talk soon,
Sylvia
