Company Culture in Building High-Performing Organizations: Culture Transformation
Many companies struggle with culture change because they focus solely on strategic objectives and overlook the importance of aligning culture with those objectives. Here are some lessons from successful transformations that can help your organization improve its culture.
1. Start with a Rigorous Assessment Process
When you're trying to transform your organization's culture, it's essential to identify leaders who can serve as champions for the new culture. A rigorous assessment process can help you identify those leaders and ensure that their personal style and values align with the desired culture.
2. Promote Cultural Alignment Within Your Teams
Once you've identified your culture champions, it's time to promote cultural alignment within your teams. This involves clarifying priorities, making authentic connections, and developing team norms that bring the new culture to life. By promoting cultural alignment, you can ensure that your teams are working together toward a common goal.
3. Redesign Structural Elements with Culture in Mind
It's essential to redesign the structural elements of your organization with culture in mind. This includes leadership models, recruitment, talent assessment, training and development, performance management, reward systems, and promotions. If these elements don't align with cultural and leadership imperatives, progress can be derailed.
4. Prioritize Learning for Innovation and Agility
In today's dynamic and uncertain business environment, learning is more critical than ever. Prioritizing learning can help promote innovation and agility, enabling your organization to respond to increasingly less predictable and more complex environments. Small companies and those in newer industries accord learning higher values, making it a crucial aspect of culture change.
5. Examples of Successful Culture Change
One example of successful culture change is one Silicon Valley–based technology company that decided to prioritize learning to promote innovation and agility. By adopting a framework for a culture that was more focused on learning, the company made notable progress just one year later, even as it prepared for an impending sale amid ever-greater competition and consolidation.
On the other hand, a Europe-based industrial services organization struggled to shift its strong culture, which emphasized results and authority, to one that was more purpose-driven, enabling, open, and team-based. This shift was challenging because the current culture had served the organization well for many years, while the industry emphasized efficiency and results.
Culture change can be a challenging and complex process, but it's critical for the success of any organization. By starting with a rigorous assessment process, promoting cultural alignment within your teams, and redesigning structural elements with culture in mind, you can create a positive and effective culture that aligns with your strategic objectives. Remember to prioritize learning for innovation and agility, and don't be afraid to seek out examples of successful culture change to guide your efforts.
