In this podcast I want to talk about how you can create a culture change quickly.
First let’s start by looking at why creating the right culture is important.
Why is creating the right culture important?It’s the hidden force that drives most of our behaviour in the company. Therefore, it drives our choices or decisions
Culture and leadership are the same coin, just different sides. Leaders are responsible for managing the culture, re-enforcing what’s still working, leading the way and role modelling what needs to evolve.
A leader must be right for that stage of a business. There are leaders that are great at turning a business round, those who are great for stability and those great for growth. There are leaders who are great for start-ups, those taking it to the next level and those who are right for large, mature organisations.
Bring in the wrong leader for the phase of the business you’re in and complications ensue.
When new Leaders join a team or business and don’t know how to manage culture then things can get messy, fast.
They either fight the existing culture – which can result in them being spat out quickly by the company or employees play the game and on the surface go along with the new leader, waiting it out till the leader moves on. Existing cultures usually win here.
The new leader could give in to the culture – in which case what needed to change and evolve doesn’t. This is usually a slow creeping death.
What is culture?In a nutshell it’s derived from unspoken behaviours, mindsets and social patterns
Culture shapes the attitudes, decisions, choices that are made. It defines what’s normal, acceptable and rewarded in this team, site or company.
Culture is like a soup, if it’s a healthy one it nourishes you. If it’s unhealthy for you then you want to get out – it’s one reason people leave within 6 months of joining an organisation. What’s more as an organisation grows the culture will evolve, as it does, some people choose to leave, the soup no longer right for them. Sometimes though evolution is required but it’s fought by all and then the soup becomes toxic and if nothing happens the company goes under.
How can I tell what the culture is?Observing the culture could be split into 3 aspects
The easyWhat do you see around you, the artefacts, the behaviours. Eg Is it open plan, formal dress, mini football table, what’s the art on the wall, the way the phone is answered or you’re greeted at reception – it’s the surface presentation of the culture, but it might not actually be the culture. Some of what you see could be the desired culture or it could be the espoused culture. In some cases it’s just a collection of stuff and means nothing at all. Without further enquiry, observation and interrogation you don’t really know how valid this stuff that you’re observing is. Plus you need to remember you’re observing it through your subjective filters.
The intermediateThe values they state. Eg Teamwork. But how do they behave that demonstrates teamwork? Is it that no decision is made until we all agree. People can attend any meeting they fancy if they believe they have something to contribute. We work together and no one is left to sink. No shouting or strong expression of emotion. It’s OK to let rip if it’s at the idea not the person. You see how these are all different and without being explicit then each person will come with their expectation of what this value means. The upshot is that people think they’re living the value and others might disagree.
Then you need to observe – are decisions made in line with the values or conveniently forgotten if it’s going to cost time or money.
The harder or deeperWhat’s the history of the team or organisation. What were the key values, beliefs, assumptions and mindset of the founders. What worked, brought success that was then taken for granted as the way to do things and is no longer considered, or challenged. It’s also taught or passed on to newcomers as this is the way to think / feel and act to experience success. Or stay safe or have some stability.
Here you’re looking to discover what are the deeper underlying thought patterns that drive emotions and behaviour
In summary then culture is highly unconscious and unless you become aware of it, it is managing you and the results that are possible. As a leader it’s critical you become aware of it and learn how to use it. This will help you navigate challenges better as well as bring greater results.
Which brings me to a question I’m often asked
The fastest way to create a culture shift is….Discover the underlying thought patterns that are driving the culture and then you know where to start the shift.
What still works, what’s outlived its use, what are people strongly attached to that they are reluctant to let it go. What’s required to support the desired culture.
Now sometimes a leader in a team can step back and observe, discover, and implement – no external 3rd party help is required.
Often though external help is. Now again sometimes the external can be external to the team. But external to the company gives you that ultimate fresh perspective, plus we’ve also done this a lot, so we can guide you as to ways of getting the outcome as fast as possible.
5 reasons most culture shift initiatives fail?A lot of change initiatives fail because no one considered the culture and whether the new change could operate in the current culture.
Culture change initiatives fail for a variety of reasons
Creating a culture shift in your teamIf you’re looking to create a culture shift in your team then these are some key elements.
Creating a culture shift in your department / site / businessEffectively you’re doing the above on a larger scale. Which can be daunting. It’s good to know there are tools and frameworks that allow you to get insight as to where you are right now, where is the low hanging fruit, what looks like the best path to take to get you where you want to be. What are the other considerations you need to focus on and improve so that the culture shift is sustainable – systems / recruitment / leadership / relationships / learning and growth / product. I love the Barrett’s Values Culture Assessment for helping with all of this. Yes there is a cost associated with doing this, however the insights it reveals and support it provides is worth it’s weight in gold.
How long does it take to create a culture shift?How long is a piece of string – in a team it can happen in as little as 90 days, if it’s managed well. And then extrapolate from there. If we’re changing the culture of an entire organisation of 1000+ people then you’re looking at a good year plus, (again if it’s well managed). The reason it takes longer is because there will definitely be shifts required as I mentioned in areas like recruitment, compensation and benefits, general organisational systems.
Impact of Culture on Company PerformanceCulture indicates the future performance of the business. It affects engagement, staff retention, being able to attract future talent. These things impact customer satisfaction and trust in the brand. All of which hit the bottom line.
I come back to something I mentioned earlier – if you’re not actively managing the culture of your team / department / company then it is definitely managing you.
If you want to discuss how you can get better at managing your culture contact me
In the meantime
Go be the difference in leadership
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With the end of 2022 in sight, I’ve been looking at my productivity. My August went by so fast I missed it, and September wasn’t much slower. So much so that I began October with more work than I knew I could get through. I started to get that sinking feeling, where I have this [...]
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Welcome to the 2nd Podcast on Success Principles. Our mind has several higher faculties – these include reason, will, perception, intuition, memory and the one I’m going to talk about today – IMAGINATION. Of course depending on how you use these higher faculties, determines what you think about and therefore bring about. Imagination for [...]
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Analysis is an essential leadership skill quality that produces better results, but there comes a point when overdone, we enter analysis paralysis, start over thinking everything and poor decision making follows. Every day there are decisions to be made. Who should be assigned to what project? How do we manage remote working, so it benefits the company, our customers and our employees? What’s the next product our market is searching for? [...]
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Hello and welcome to the blue pea leader podcast, and in this episode I'm going to be joined by Emily Foster, who is the APAC media leader for Colgate at WPP. And she's also a diversity and inclusion leader, and that's why I've invited her on the podcast today to share her thoughts, passion and [...]
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In this episode of the blue pea leader podcast, I'm going to talk about the importance of developing your courage muscles. We often dismiss our level of courage or at times feel overwhelmed and wonder if there is any point continuing with a goal. Especially now, with waves of lockdown being projected and more uncertainty [...]
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Please be aware what follows is an AI Transcript, excuse typos’ and any other slightly weird stuff but you’ll get the gist of the interview….. Ruth: Hello and welcome to the blue pea leader podcast, and on this episode, I'm going to be joined by Sue Swanborough, who's an expert HR director. We're going [...]
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The following is an AI transcript, so please ignore any errors. Hello and welcome to this episode of the blue pea leader. And I want to share with you how you can navigate uncertainty, with style. Well, at least with a resource that will ensure you come through this stronger. Because in high uncertainty. People [...]
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Please be aware what follows is an AI Transcript, please excuse typos’ and any other slightly weird stuff but you’ll get the gist of the interview….. Ruth: Hello and welcome to the blue pea leader podcast, and in this episode, I am joined by somebody that I have known for about five years and [...]
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Burnout, stress, overwhelm, overworked. Just a few of the side effects of having our boundaries at work crossed repeatedly. What are boundaries A boundary is a line or threshold or limit. Crossing the boundary is often spoken about as an infringement / breach / violation. We have:- socially or culturally accepted boundaries organisational boundaries personal [...]
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Emotions are a fact of life. We all have them, and it's sometimes challenging to keep them in check. In the workplace, emotional outbursts can have a detrimental effect on the whole team, not just an individual. Anger, frustration, fear – negative emotions in the workplace can destroy a team; so how you as a leader handle emotion [...]
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Many years ago, (I won’t count how many if you don’t mind!,) I was introduced to a couple of different coaching principles that I was encouraged to use as I built my coaching expertise. Here they are-> ‘The meaning of communication is the response you get’ and ‘People are doing the best they can with the resources they have’. I [...]
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Employees around the globe are reporting that change is a constant in organisations today, and while the focus may currently be on how technology is driving change mainly through artificial intelligence, the reality is different. Change is happening at an unprecedented pace due to mergers and acquisitions, leadership transitions, which is frequently followed by restructuring. Add to this, [...]
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[This is a transcript - apologies for any typo's] Hello, it's Ruth here. And today, I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on leadership in this modern world. It is probably based on the several conversations I've been having in the last two to three months. Leadership is...? I was running a [...]
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[This is a transcript of the podcast] How good is your active listening? Hi. It's Ruth here from Blue Pea POD, and today, I want to talk about what I think it takes to be good at listening. Which, let's face it, is a crucial skill when we want to build strong relationships. So whether [...]
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This year some of my conversations and work with my clients have encompassed the power of our identity and our story, or script, that we unconsciously let shape our life and consequently our leadership. Right now, I’ve just relocated from Cheshire to Cornwall, a vision that’s become reality about 2 years earlier than I thought [...]
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There was a time when people looked for job security, for the right remuneration package and the career ladder. However what people want now is meaning and significance in their work. When we talk about employee engagement or employee satisfaction is what we’re interested in them showing up and completing some tasks and feeling OK [...]
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Fact and an uncomfortable one at that is; the stories we tell, to ourselves and others, predict our future. We are by nature story people, it’s a way of expressing ourselves, feeling valued, connected. It’s also a way of framing what’s happened or about to happen in a useful and productive way. Good [...]
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Coaching a direct report... ummm. Is this a great idea for today's leader? The short answer is not always. A leader should be having a regular conversation to help develop their direct report in line with business needs and the employee’s talent and desires career-wise. Within these conversations, great leaders are aware of [...]
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[Please excuse any typing errors as this is a direct transcription for your benefit.] Hello, this is Ruth Sanderson from Blue Pea POD. In this podcast, I want to talk about mental agility, specifically, being open-minded. Being open-minded is one of the common responses that come up when I ask leaders about the [...]
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[Please excuse any typing errors as this is a direct transcription for your benefit.] Hi, this is Ruth Sanderson from Blue Pea POD and in this podcast, I want to pose the question: Are you an intrepid explorer? I like to think we all have a bit of explorer in us, now. Maybe [...]
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[Please excuse any typing errors as this is a direct transcription for your benefit.] When there are times of high change, unknown, uncertainty, flux and a bucket load of problems just waiting for solutions; it’s easy to hunker down. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, demotivated and then we have a choice. To try [...]
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[Please excuse and typing errors. This is a direct transcription of the podcast for your benefit.] In this podcast, I want to talk about what if you're not prepared to get it wrong? Which might seem a little odd, but I do see people go through a stage where they don't want to [...]
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[Please excuse and typing errors. This is a direct transcription of the podcast for your benefit.] Hello there. This is Ruth Sanderson from Blue Pea POD, and in this podcast, I want to talk about being respected. As a leader, we can hope that our title will bring respect. Now, of course, we [...]
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