Culture in change
During any change mechanism there are two main phases:
• Conception and planning
• Implementation.
One of the most ignored factors during organizational change is organizational culture. Culture plays a huge role in any change mechanism and if it is not looked at it could be the stopping block of your change mechanism. In most instances strategic change initiatives are mandated and employees are rarely if ever asked for input or to approve the changes during the conception and planning phase. In fact most changes are made without the asking the very people that will have to implement the change or will be directly affected by the change. To make matters worse, the change might be generated by outside consultants who know less about the organization than the individuals that work in the very trenches of the organization creating a learned helplessness and/or resistance response.
When we start to dissect an organizations culture we have to start our study at the smallest possible link, which is our communication. We all need to be speaking the same language. If I start this journey with the word culture there is a problem inherent with the word itself. The word culture does not have a finite meaning. It is a morph word and takes on meaning depending on the words that surround it. Similarly, our corporate cultures take their meaning from the individuals (the influences) that create that culture. If we do not define it, both in definition and for our corporate purposes, how can we ever expect to change it, engage it or even interact with this nebulous form?
For the purpose of this blog I will define the word culture as a group of assumptions of how the world should and does operate that a group of people share that determines their thoughts, perceptions, feelings and behavior. It is a set of measurable, directional, and distinguishable conversations and actions that form the written and unwritten rules of behavior governing how individuals interact – in your organization(1). These rules directly influence how work is accomplished and how fast or slow any change mechanism is going to be incorporated into an organization if at all.
In some instances the change mechanism is completely in line with the corporate culture and it takes little effort to create the change. An example of this would be for a Starbuck’s barista to learn how to make a new beverage. The problem with the organizations culture comes up when the change initiative stray too far from the way things are usually done within the organization. An organization’s culture will allow, dictate the timing, or completely halt the implementation of any change mechanism.
If corporate culture is nebulous, how does one measure it? Ken Matejka and Al Murphy (2) suggest having participants of the culture come up with adjectives that characterize the current work culture in the organization. To start to uncover corporate culture point the focus at things like attire, conversations, house keeping, language used, offices, expectations about what works and what doesn’t work, procedures, rituals and traditions, signs and workspace. Make sure any unwritten ground rules are included like, being a team player means being at all the corporate outings.
Embracing the existing organizational culture and incorporating input from that culture may seem to be the slower route but it will allow for reflection and insights to develop and build commitment to give the implementation a chance of going smoothly. Attaching a sense of urgency to the change mechanism will increase the chances of disrupting the organizational culture causing further delay in the change initiative.
A reminder must be made that when we choose to take on any change we are dealing with human brains. As soon as we introduce a must comply or forced scenario we will receive a two-year old-like brain rebellion. This is one of the most common reasons change initiatives fail. Having employees help create the change initiatives will help create commitment for the change and have the change be closer to the existing organizational structure creating a quicker and easier change implementation.
Change is always about connecting on a human level. Spending the time to understand the culture will help the change occur.
Tracy Slotin, MBA
CEO
The Executive Sandbox ® Change Consultants
http://www.executivesandbox.com
(1) Stephen W. Hobbs and Darsell Karringten Cultural Transition: exploring Transition-based Organization Through TRACE(c) (Calgary, AB: The International Institute for Cultural Transition 2001).
(2) Making Change Happen On Time, On Target, On Budget (Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing 2005).
• Conception and planning
• Implementation.
One of the most ignored factors during organizational change is organizational culture. Culture plays a huge role in any change mechanism and if it is not looked at it could be the stopping block of your change mechanism. In most instances strategic change initiatives are mandated and employees are rarely if ever asked for input or to approve the changes during the conception and planning phase. In fact most changes are made without the asking the very people that will have to implement the change or will be directly affected by the change. To make matters worse, the change might be generated by outside consultants who know less about the organization than the individuals that work in the very trenches of the organization creating a learned helplessness and/or resistance response.
When we start to dissect an organizations culture we have to start our study at the smallest possible link, which is our communication. We all need to be speaking the same language. If I start this journey with the word culture there is a problem inherent with the word itself. The word culture does not have a finite meaning. It is a morph word and takes on meaning depending on the words that surround it. Similarly, our corporate cultures take their meaning from the individuals (the influences) that create that culture. If we do not define it, both in definition and for our corporate purposes, how can we ever expect to change it, engage it or even interact with this nebulous form?
For the purpose of this blog I will define the word culture as a group of assumptions of how the world should and does operate that a group of people share that determines their thoughts, perceptions, feelings and behavior. It is a set of measurable, directional, and distinguishable conversations and actions that form the written and unwritten rules of behavior governing how individuals interact – in your organization(1). These rules directly influence how work is accomplished and how fast or slow any change mechanism is going to be incorporated into an organization if at all.
In some instances the change mechanism is completely in line with the corporate culture and it takes little effort to create the change. An example of this would be for a Starbuck’s barista to learn how to make a new beverage. The problem with the organizations culture comes up when the change initiative stray too far from the way things are usually done within the organization. An organization’s culture will allow, dictate the timing, or completely halt the implementation of any change mechanism.
If corporate culture is nebulous, how does one measure it? Ken Matejka and Al Murphy (2) suggest having participants of the culture come up with adjectives that characterize the current work culture in the organization. To start to uncover corporate culture point the focus at things like attire, conversations, house keeping, language used, offices, expectations about what works and what doesn’t work, procedures, rituals and traditions, signs and workspace. Make sure any unwritten ground rules are included like, being a team player means being at all the corporate outings.
Embracing the existing organizational culture and incorporating input from that culture may seem to be the slower route but it will allow for reflection and insights to develop and build commitment to give the implementation a chance of going smoothly. Attaching a sense of urgency to the change mechanism will increase the chances of disrupting the organizational culture causing further delay in the change initiative.
A reminder must be made that when we choose to take on any change we are dealing with human brains. As soon as we introduce a must comply or forced scenario we will receive a two-year old-like brain rebellion. This is one of the most common reasons change initiatives fail. Having employees help create the change initiatives will help create commitment for the change and have the change be closer to the existing organizational structure creating a quicker and easier change implementation.
Change is always about connecting on a human level. Spending the time to understand the culture will help the change occur.
Tracy Slotin, MBA
CEO
The Executive Sandbox ® Change Consultants
http://www.executivesandbox.com
(1) Stephen W. Hobbs and Darsell Karringten Cultural Transition: exploring Transition-based Organization Through TRACE(c) (Calgary, AB: The International Institute for Cultural Transition 2001).
(2) Making Change Happen On Time, On Target, On Budget (Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing 2005).
Labels: Culture
posted by Tracy Slotin at 10:26 PM
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