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In the September issue we provided an overview of the five Key Performance Drivers. This article will focus on Performance Driver #1: Organizational Culture.
Culture is the foundation on which all other performance drivers are built and from which they draw their energy and strength. The power of culture lies in its ability to engage and align people. Culture is a key source of the “E” factors —
engagement, energy, enthusiasm, effort, excitement, and excellence.
A strong and effective culture is like having additional executives you don’t have to pay for! An ineffective culture discourages people and weakens the organization. An effective culture engages people and strengthens the organization. Culture supports and feeds everything your firm and its people do.
Roots
and Fruit
Culture’s
foundational role is illustrated by the law of roots and fruit. What
roots do for the life of a tree, culture does for the life and
performance of an organization. Roots provide stability and
nourishment; so does culture. Culture supports and feeds everything an
organization and its people do. The strength of a firm’s “root
system” ultimately shapes and determines its ability to perform in
the marketplace.
It
follows that to achieve high performance above ground, an organization
must cultivate and manage strength “below ground.”
Competitive advantage at the operational level begins with and
is sustained by competitive advantage at the conceptual and cultural
level. High-performance firms have strong cultures. It’s a law of
organizational life that what people believe shapes how they behave;
that the level of commitment people have to a company’s purpose and
principles has a direct impact on how they and the organization
perform; that corporate character and courage determine corporate
conduct; that habits of the heart shape habits of action.
Unfortunately, many leaders manage almost exclusively “above
ground,” failing to cultivate strong and effective root systems in
their organizations. As a result, “above ground leaders” fail to
capture and harness the full intellectual and emotional energy of
their people, and neither the people nor the organization reach their
full potential.
A firm will not achieve its full potential without a strong and
effective culture. Nevertheless, in today’s rapidly changing, highly
competitive business environment, many companies fail to invest the
time and effort necessary to build and sustain a high-performance
culture.
Virtually every company has a “mission statement,” and most
management teams refer to “core values,” but surprisingly few
organizations have a compelling culture that effectively engages,
focuses, and aligns the human spirit of the people who do the work.
The result is that many employees in many companies are at best
neutral and at worst cynical about corporate culture. People will not
perform at their best in an organization that lacks a strong,
effective culture.
Three Things You Must Do
Here are three leadership disciplines you must master in order to build and sustain a strong culture.
-
Be
clear.
Be crystal clear about your firm’s mission and core values. Written mission statements are important, but not sufficient. Clarity also means teaching people how culture works, why it is important, and what their responsibilities are in building the culture. Make sure people understand that everyone has a cultural sphere of influence. That is, everyone has “20 square feet” within which they are the primary agent of culture. Each person is responsible for building and sustaining his or her part of organizational culture. Indeed, no one can build the culture in a person’s 20 square feet of the business except that person. People need to see that culture shapes the behaviors that produce results.
-
Be
consistent.
There’s no such thing as a culturally neutral attitude or action. Everyone builds culture every day. Everyone is an agent of culture. So it’s essential that leadership’s attitudes, decisions, and actions are consistent with organizational culture. Hire people who fit into your firm’s culture. Reward people who live the culture. Promote people who are committed to the culture. Beware cynicism and toxic behavior. Don’t let others’ inconsistency be an excuse for not living your firm’s core values.
Consistency is key because you get the behavior you tolerate. If people are allowed to behave in ways inconsistent with your core values, then that behavior will define your culture.
There are “defining moments” in the process of building organizational culture. Defining
moments
are key leverage points where decisions are made by executives, managers, and employees whether or not to follow the company’s core values. The company’s culture is defined by the decisions it makes and the actions it takes at these key leverage points. The circumstances don’t define the culture … the decisions and actions define the culture. Every circumstance is an opportunity to define the culture. Note: most
defining moments occur outside the immediate sight and influence of management.
-
Be
connected.
Culture is deeply interpersonal. Culture is built person-to-person and heart-to-heart. It’s not built memo-to memo or e-mail to e-mail. Culture is a key part of your firm’s “social network.” An organization’s social network is made up of relationships people build based on trust, commitment, communication, collaboration, shared values, and a sense of belonging. Your firm’s social network is as important as financial capital, physical capital, or intellectual capital. Your culture’s strength is determined by the extent to which people take responsibility for their “20 square feet” and encourage and support each other in building the culture. These interpersonal connections are where culture is built and sustained.
It’s particularly important for leaders to be connected with others in the organization. Leaders who connect with people have the opportunity to share mission and core values at a personal level, offering people an opportunity to see and feel the leaders’ personal commitment to the organization’s culture. Effective leaders understand that what comes from the heart, touches the heart.
Mission Statement Isn’t Enough
No matter how well-crafted they are, mission statements alone won’t create a strong culture. Effective leaders recognize the role — and the limitations — of written statements. They understand that the goal is to build a strong and effective culture, not write formal statements. Effective leaders recognize that formal statements are tools that clarify and give specificity to mission and values; but formal statements aren’t substitutes for the discipline of culture building. Unfortunately, some management teams spend more time and energy debating the mission statement’s grammar and font than they do building commitment to the culture. Many companies have mission statements; not nearly as many have strong and effective cultures.
Timothy Kight is
chairman of Focus3 Performance Services, a Columbus, Ohio-based consulting firm whose mission is to assist client companies to focus on and improve organizational performance, leadership effectiveness, and personal excellence.
He
can be reached at tkight@focus3.biz.
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