Organisational Culture

Deciding and Creating the Organisation Culture you Want

Organisational Culture

• As leaders and managers we need to be aware that our behaviour will directly impact those around us and we can chose to create the kind of environment for people to feel good about themselves, their work and give of their best. This workshop will help you consider the positive culture you want and how you can model it through your actions and conversations

• Will Daniel-Braham

Introductions

• Name …………

• Your role …………

• One thing you want from this session is …………

• Your favourite thing to do at the weekend is …………

Introductions

What is the difference between the menu and the meal?

Menu and the Meal

Menu Words

Symbols Pictures

Idea

Meal Is what it Is

Reality

Culture and Expectation People are not upset with what is; rather that it does not meet

their expectation. Consider that you are not ever disappointed with the thing or person; you are disappointed

with your expectation that it/they would be anything other than what it is/who they are.

Your ability to handle ‘the way it is’ will directly impact your

ability to handle difficult situations. Things do not always fit our picture. How you are about that can either get in the way of your handling situations effectively or support you to work

well with your colleagues, your teams and the people you work with and alongside.

When one has the ability to determine that the source of your

upset, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, disgruntlement, etc. is in fact of your own doing, you then have the ability to transform

your relationship to it. You are therefore able to transform your relationship to both yourself, with your colleagues, your

teams and the people you work with and alongside.

Over to you!

Each 2’s or 3’s: •Brief Introductions •As a group – discuss and record a definition of Organisational Culture •You have 5 minutes •One minute feedback to the whole room!

Organisational Culture – a Definition “The collection of relatively uniform and enduring values, beliefs, customs, traditions and practices that are shared by an organisation’s members, learned by the new recruits and transmitted from one generation of employees to the next” Edgar Schein

“The way we do things around here…” “The way it is” “The collective programming of the mind”

Culture Defined

What the organisation values, demonstrated by: • How people relate to one another. • How information is communicated. • How people are led to feel about

their work. • How the organisation behaves.

Organisational Culture – Why it matters

• It is a powerful, latent and often unconscious set of forces

• It determines individual and collective behavior, thought patterns and values

• Cultural elements impact on strategy, objectives and operations

• The values of leaders and senior managers are influenced by their own cultural backgrounds and shared experiences

It will impact – positively or negatively - on everything

you try to do!

So what is Organisational Culture?

Schein’s Three Levels of Culture

Edgar Schein - 1985

Surface Manifestations and Artefacts

Visible structures and processes (easy to see, harder to decipher)

Espoused Values Strategies, goals and philosophies (espoused justifications))

Basic Assumptions Unconscious, taken for granted beliefs, thoughts and perceptions (ultimate source of values and actions)

Surface Manifestations and Artefacts

Are the most visible and accessible form, Visible and audible behavior patterns and objects:

• Dress Codes • Formality in relationships • Working hours • Meeting etiquette • Decision making • Communications • Social events • Jargon, uniforms, symbols • Conflict handling • Work / Life balance

Organisation Values and Beliefs Some Examples…

• “Teamwork must be at the heart of all we do”

• “We expect teamwork and collaboration across our organisation for the benefit of all stakeholders”

• “We treat one another with respect and communicate openly. We foster collaboration while maintaining individual accountability. We encourage the best ideas to surface from anywhere within the organization. We appreciate the value of multiple perspectives and diverse expertise.”

Organisation Values and Beliefs

• Are said to provide a common direction and act as guidelines for behavior

• Often originate from the founders of the organisation or senior management

• Typically based on moral, societal or religious precepts learned in childhood and modified through experience

• Are espoused or alluded to – but are they really adopted?

Basic Assumptions

• Invisible, preconscious and taken-for-granted understandings held by individuals with respect to human behaviour, the nature of reality and the organisation’s relationship to its environment

• Ultimate strength of an organisation’s culture depends on the homogeneity of the groups members – socialisation plays a key role in this

• Working at home?

So that’s easy, then?

Desired / Preferred Culture •Initiative •Co-operation •Team Work •Creativity •Commitment

Actual Culture •Politics •Internal Competition •Individual Agendas •Avoidance of Blame •Indifference

Culture Gap

This is what you have to uncover!

So what is Organisational Culture built on?

Each group is forming a new company

Each group: •Discuss and record the types of things you will need to consider as you start working together

•You have 5 minutes!

Culture is formed from…

External Survival Issues

•Mission, Strategy, Goals

•Structure, Systems, Processes

•Measurement and correction

Internal Integration Issues •Language and Concepts

•Group boundaries and Identity

•Nature of Authority and Relationships

•Allocation of Rewards and Status

Deeper Assumptions

•Relationships to nature

•Reality and Truth

•Human Nature

•Human Relationships

•Time and Space

Culture is transmitted and embedded by…

Primary Embedding Mechanisms • What leaders pay attention to,

measure and control • How leaders react to critical

incidents • How leaders allocate resources • Leader’s role modelling and

coaching • How leaders allocate rewards and

status • Recruitment, selection,

promotion and exit

Secondary Reinforcement Mechanisms

• Design and Structure • Systems and Processes • Rites and Rituals • Physical space, facades and

buildings • Stories about important events • Creation of heroes

Assessing and Measuring Organisational Culture

Assessing and Measuring Culture

• Culture can be assessed by means of individual and group interview processes

• Surveys provide quantitative measures across the organisation

• Use an organisational problem or issue to help understand if culture helps or hinders

• Beware of sub-cultures!

Organisational Cultural Survey

• Quantitively assesses culture against four key organisational traits

• Mission • Consistency • Involvement • Adaptability

Dan Denison Bill Neale

Interventions • Mission

– Leadership Development – Executive coaching – Visioning and Strategy development workshops

• Consistency – Bottom up Values development – Communication – two way – listening sessions – forums – Improve knowledge sharing

• Involvement – Learning and Development programme aligned to business

goals – Review performance management and reward systems

• Adaptability – Encourage innovation – ideas can come from anywhere

What’s the way it is in your organisation that

has you not be as effective as you can be?

‘The Way it is’

The banana 10 chimpansees in a room

1 Banana

Max Barry's electric banana

The banana In a variation of Max Barry's electric banana, 10 chimps are

placed in a room. There is a ladder in the room. In the ceiling is a banana hanging from string. At some point a chimp will figure out how to use the ladder to

get the banana. But the string is attached to the sprinkler system and soaks all

the chimps. Chimps do not like water.

Max Barry's electric banana

The banana When this has happened a dozen times or so, the chimps

put two and two together and they stop pulling the banana on the string.

One of the chimps is the replaced with a new one who

does not know about the banana. When this chimp tries to get the banana, the other

chimps will then beat the snot out of it. The lessson learned is ”do not touch the banana”

Max Barry's electric banana

The banana

Max Barry's electric banana

The banana

When all the chimps have been replaced there is not a single chimp who dares pull the banana on a string.

The banana is no longer attached to the sprinkler but no

chimp will know because no chimp dares pull it. This is how culture is formed. Even in companies. ”do not touch the banana”

Max Barry's electric banana

The banana

So when you hear someone in a team or a in your workplace say ”We don’t do that in this company.” what you should be hearing is:

”Do not touch the banana.”

Challenge the unspoken rules and find a cause of

them. If there is no longer a known cause, challenge it further.

Max Barry's electric banana

The culture shows the path • Even though there are some downsides to an

organisational culture there are many more upsides.

• Internally it will show how a new employee can solve a specific task

• Externally it can show how the company deals with achieving its goals and deals with their clients.

• It creates a shared understanding of the vision and goals of the company and promotes cohesion.

Organisation as Context

There is no ‘is’ organisation

Thank You

Will Daniel-Braham

‘Be’ Passion Will Daniel-Braham

Facebook: facebook.com/willdanielbraham Mobile: 079 5626 6416 Email: will@personalpoweruk.com Web: www.personalpoweruk.com Twitter: WillAWay