On culture

Culture of a company or organization is something I get to explain and describe often. It is an elusive concept that tends to mean different things to different people and is not easily explained. Here’s my attempt at it.

“Culture” isn’t something we can touch or measure. It is something that can only be observed, then described.

One way to describe it is behaviour. Easier to understand when you listen to people talk about culture, they use words like: “We have a culture of..” or “It is/is not in our culture to…”. Clearly, they talk about behaviour. Thereby, culture is the default behaviour and attitude, learned from others, shared by the group joined by a common identity.

Culture cannot be planned, installed, or implemented. No matter how excited you get about one-liners like “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. It can only be enabled by the actions of those who have the power to change the environment, then watch it emerge like a flower that grows given the right conditions. And it takes time.

The culture you get won’t be exactly like you imagined it, just like the plant you grew won’t have the exact amount and shape of leaves and flowers you imagined. But you can still affect how it turns out to be.

If you are thinking about changing the culture of your group, don’t try to plan it in too much detail. Start by understanding what it is now. If the culture is pathological or bureaucratic, aim to fix that first.

I cannot stress this enough: Culture usually and initially mirrors the preferences of those in the organization who have the power to provide rewards or inflict punishment. These people have the greatest leverage on making changes to culture, through enablement. Some of the most important enablers to a generative culture are trust, transparency, and psychological safety.

Inspiration:

If you have read “Sooner Safer Happier” by Jonathan Smart, you might recognize some of the themes.