With culture change it's often difficult to know where to start, you may feel that something's not right, you may have heard some murmurings from colleagues. Some key questions to get you started...
1) What are we trying to create?
Having an aligned view of the desired state is essential to move forward or shift anything. Many times we’ve worked with senior teams and as we talk to each team member individually, it becomes clear that they are each aiming for something different. This results in mixed messages and signals leading to a confused organisation.
2) What will I/we change to create something new?
You’ve got to start to understand the current drivers of your culture – is it leadership behaviours? Is it process or governance? Is it the stories that are told around the coffee machine? It’s likely to be multiple things. Culture is an output, so you need to look at the inputs to see what needs to change. This will require some bravery as shifting the existing patterns means disruption and a challenge of the status quo – how brave are you going to be?
3) What role am I playing in this?
Taking some time for self-reflection is key, not just paying lip service to self-reflection but really understanding and owning your role, both in the creation of the old and in the creation of the new. Whether it’s through coaching, feedback, journaling it doesn’t matter, what matters is that you put in some hard yards on this, it can make or break an organisation and move from just words to really walking the talk.
Is your leadership team aligned? How do you know?
Are you aware of the factors that are influencing your culture?
Are you prepared to hold the mirror up and understand the role you play?
Let us know your thoughts on these questions and please share any others you'd ask!
If you’d like an informal chat about culture in your organisation or team drop us a note : hello@curiousjellyfish.com or call +44 (0) 7786571472
Comments