Understanding and Developing Organizational Culture aligned to goals

 

An organization's culture describes the proper means to behave within the organization. This culture includes common beliefs and values established by leaders then communicated and reinforced through several methods, ultimately determining employee perceptions, behaviors and understanding. Organizational culture sets the framework for everything an enterprise does. Because industries and situations vary significantly, there's no one-size-fits-all culture model that meets the requirements of all organizations.

A strong culture may be a common denominator among the foremost successful companies. All have consensus at the highest regarding cultural priorities, and people values specialize in the organization and its goals. Leaders are clear about their values and the way those values define their organizations and determine how the organizations run.

What Is Organizational Culture?
At the deepest level, an organization's culture is predicated on values derived from basic assumptions about the following:

·      Attribute - Are people inherently good or bad, mutable or immutable, proactive or reactive? These basic assumptions cause beliefs about how employees, customers, and suppliers should interact and the way they ought to be managed.

 

·      The organization's relationship to its environment - How does the organization defines its business and its constituencies?

·      Appropriate emotions - Which emotions should people be encouraged to precise, and which of them should be suppressed?

 

·      Effectiveness - What metrics show whether the organization and its individual components do well? An organization are going to be effective only the culture is supported by an appropriate business strategy and a structure that's appropriate for both the business and therefore the desired culture.

 

At the guts of organizations' cultures are commonly shared values. None is true or wrong, but organizations got to decide which values they're going to emphasize. These common values include:

·      Outcome orientation - Emphasizing achievements and results. 

·      People orientation - Insisting on fairness, tolerance, and respect for the individual. 

·      Team orientation - Emphasizing and rewarding collaboration. 

·      Attention to detail - Valuing precision and approaching situations and problems analytically. 

·      Stability - Providing security and following a predictable course. 

·      Innovation - Encouraging experimentation and risk-taking. 

·      Aggressiveness - Stimulating a fiercely competitive spirit.

 

Is your company culture aligned to goals?

In some ways, culture re-engineering is possibly one of the most important strategic shifts that a lot of firms got to specialize in. Challenges in business are often traced back to culture. And sadly, it's left untouched because it is often seen as offensive and too complex. There are some key markers to assist you to re-engineer your culture strategically.

Assessment and acknowledge the gaps in current culture - What really is still enabling your strategy deployment? What is aching? Which dimensions have survived their utility? What aspects missing in your culture got to be introduced? There will be emotion, resentment, and denial as you undergo this exercise. But done well, we'll know what to prevent, continue and start.

Leadership encouragement - At the minimum, the leadership of the firm must articulate the culture it seeks to advocate and explain the logic of the change. Don’t be surprised if you get fair support for it as most associates indeed know the necessity for change is long overdue.

Talent culture - A new culture may have some clear shifts in mindsets, competencies, and behavior. Depending on the sharpness of the needed swerve, greater the main target on leadership and talent coaching support, training, some tough exit calls, some dramatic promotions, a couple of strong new hires.

Realign all HR subsystems to strengthen the re-engineered culture - In my experience, many cultural shifts come short of what's desired. This is because the HR ecosystem didn't change comprehensively. Possibly the talent definition and your hiring practice got to change. The entire policy framework, including what you recognize and celebrate, must be revamped.

Stay the course - It is natural for constituencies to ascertain cultural re-engineering from the selfish lens of self-survival and self-perpetuation. Continue to allow for psychological support. Track progress Celebrate wins.