What is organizational culture, why does it matter?

Is developing a culture an appropriate goal for an organization, or is it a reflection, resulting from establishment and support of goals and values? In fact, it is both.

Organizational culture is a reflection of a department or company’s

• Values
• Priorities
• Status in the market and maturity as a business
•  The tacit agreements regarding how organization members are going to interact with each other

You can see these reflected in three ways; through

• Artifacts: The environment, work area, break areas, posters and art, equipment and tools, awards and rewards, recognition and compensation
•  Interactions: When and how people talk to each other, about each other; about their customers; their suppliers; their competition
•  Decisions: What and how decisions are made when there is apparent conflict between values and priorities

Why does organizational culture matter?

It is important to establish and nurture a culture that supports your company’s goals and reflects the values, priorities, and position of your organization.  In that sense developing a healthy corporate culture is indeed a goal.

• It guides decisions in the gray space – when the best practices book doesn’t quite apply or the leader is not available
• It’s what keeps the team going in unusually challenging times
• Provides the framework for different functional areas to resolve conflict and keep moving (or not)
• It’s how leaders can sleep without worry that they are going to wind up in a two-hour press conference explaining why the trusted “second in command” initiated a vengeful action that they would never approve or condone
• People who don’t fit in the culture tend to leave- who stays and who leaves speaks volumes about culture

It is not unusual to find that a company’s goals and its culture are not aligned. In fact, that is often a reason companies engage our firm. As leadership changes, priorities shift or the company matures, it is not unusual for cultural discord to become a real deterrent to performance.

A healthy culture is key to continuous improvement. There will always be opportunities for improvements that drive better results. With a healthy culture, everyone on the team will help find such opportunities and innovate and adapt together.

Is your work culture strong? Is it healthy? Is it aligned with company goals?  With other departments? Who is leaving your organization? Are the right people staying? What values, priorities, status, and tacit agreements are reflected?

Look and listen, then tell us what kind of culture you work in and your thoughts about its effectiveness and the forces behind it.

As we continue the “culture” discussion we plan to pose and address many questions. Let us know what you are interested in hearing about. Click or call!

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