Michael Cruz
Your business plans are built on logical thought. We decide where we want to take our business. Goals, plans and strategy help you focus on the growth in your business. Inevitably, some of the plans will need adjusting because there will be obstacles along the way. Many of those obstacles will come from your own people NOT following through on achieving your plans. Sometimes it is because they did not believe in the goals. Perhaps your culture got in the way.
Wiki defines culture as “the values and beliefs; language and communication; and practices shared by a group of people.” You have a company culture whether (or not) you acknowledge it. Most often the culture in your company is a set of unwritten rules.
We live within many cultures in our world. Since culture is about behaviors that are acceptable, we try to adapt based on the group setting. There is a culture in your immediate family, at work, at church or in other social groups. Adaptation to the expected culture is what normal people do.
New employees spend their early time in your employ observing “acceptable” behaviors. They absorb how people interact and watch what values are held high. And which behaviors are frowned upon. They are helped along with comments from others such as, “We don’t do that here.” And they adjust their behavior to fit inn better.
It is therefore key to understanding the culture that has evolved inn your organization. There are many ways to determine company culture. The most focused one is to ask you employees. There is a local company that helps you measure your culture through a survey. It is called CultureTalk. It gets your team to think about what is important and what gets measured by the company. It is not very expensive but can be invaluable. (www.CultureTalk.com) It will help you figure out what your culture is. There are also individual culture profiles that can show us what our natural behaviors might be. That also helps us see potential stressors in our attempt to adapt to the company expectations.
Once you understand the culture, you must decide if you want to adjust what is not good AND reinforce what is good for your plans. Perhaps your stated culture is focused on high customer service. Then you reprimand someone for accepting back a product outside your return ‘rules’. Your people learn to seek permission first and perhaps make the customer dissatisfied. A culture where you profess ‘we all work hard’ can often lead to ‘burn out’ if not properly managed. How we dress, communicate, and take breaks is all based on your culture. If you are not happy with any of that, now is the time to think about your culture.
Culture is important. It helps us guide our own behavior. We want to fit in. We want to communicate within our group in ways that help us get to the right decision. It is much easier if we understand what the shared values are.
Promoting the culture is more than buying a few motivational posters. It entails leadership coaching, interviewing for fit and many other aspects. In the end, culture is a key driver in meeting your goals. Having a clear understanding will help you achieve all your goals in the coming year.