The eight cultures that define every successful organisation
Image courtesy of ‘my life through a lens’ on Unsplash
Where I work, making tea is an important social ritual. At intermittent points during the day, someone will ask for orders and then head off to the tea point, returning a short time later with mugs of steaming hot beverage on a tray. Although a mundane activity, tea making has contributed to team bonding, created a shared sense of responsibility and become part and parcel of office custom and practice.
But what does making tea have to do with shaping and defining a successful organisational culture?
Well, in any organisation, consistent adherence to a standard establishes a norm, which if repeated and adhered to by others, establishes a culture. If any standard, consistently adhered to can establish a cultural norm, then every organisation can create a dynamic culture that shapes change and drives improvement.
So what is organisational culture? In simple terms it is the sum total of beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours that define a business. Organisational culture is shaped by leadership competence, management capability, policy and business goals. It can manifest itself by way of ethics (culture of truthfulness), ideology (culture of fairness), goals (culture of success) and a host of other ways. Culture shapes an organisation’s brand and helps create a unique identity. Set out below are the eight cultures that define every successful organisation.
1. The influence of ideology
Ideology is the anchoring principle and steering wheel of successful organisations. Take the concept of ‘fairness’ as an example; the idea that people, whether employees or customers, should be treated fairly ought to be a fundamental value. When fairness becomes a driving ideology, then the organisation that adopts this principle will design and orientate its entire business model towards that outcome. Such an organisation would be much more inclined to be self-examining and self-correcting to enable that it performs to the required standard. It would also hold itself and its employees individually and collectively accountable for results. The corollary of the above is that when ideology drives culture, it also shapes organisational behaviour. Once the boundaries of behaviour and practice are set, then the framework for what is permissible and rewarded is also established.
2. The compass of professional ethics
Ethics speak to the culture of organisational integrity and tolerance. Whatever an organisation tolerates says more about it than the size of its customer base or even its profit margin. Why? Well, because ethics are the outward expression of organisational ideology and values. Take the concept of trust; if being trustworthy is an important organisational value, then truthfulness is the ethical standard that underpins that value. In this way, a clear code of ethics prevents an organisation from becoming delinquent. On the flip side, when the bounds of what is tolerable or acceptable become blurred, then an organisation becomes a bit like a person with a malfunctioning compass, they quickly lose their bearings and drift off course.
3. The code of co-operation
Analyse the mechanics of any successful organisation and you will find a productive workforce. Then if you deconstruct the components of a productive workforce, you will find a culture of co-operation. Finally, if you dissect the DNA of co-operation, you will find the characteristics of successful relationships (mutual respect, empathy and emotional intelligence). So why does co-operation matter in the context of an organisation? Well, co-operation is one of the key ‘binding agents’ of sustainable organisational success. When organisations set co-operation as their default, they can be more efficient with their knowledge and as such, are better able to spot patterns, identify gaps and make decisions. Essentially, a culture of co-operation helps to ensure that the collective skill and talent assets of an organisation, can be utilised to their best effect.
4. The rhythm and routine of re-setting expectations
In simple terms, a re-set is therefore a clean slate and a blank canvass to re-think or re-imagine. It is the act of setting aside what might have gone before, in favour of something new, in the hope of something better. In the context of organisations, the culture of re-setting expectation can be one of the most effective (to say nothing of most powerful) tools to drive improvement. An organisation that consciously and consistently re-sets expectations rejects the idea of: ‘is this good enough’ in favour of: ‘is this as good as it can possibly be’. That is why organisations that spend more time ‘re-setting’ (than simply ‘setting’) their expectations, operate in a constant state of continuous improvement.
5. The climate of objective criticism
The culture of objective criticism shapes successful organisations because it creates a conducive climate for open and honest communication. When communication is open and honest then accountability can flourish and when accountability flourishes, then organisations learn. This context of accountability is also important because learning only happens when rationale and logic is tested in environments where people are empowered to unburden themselves of their thoughts. As such, those organisations that are open to learning are likely to be open to correction and when they are open to correction, then they are more likely to improve. The climate of objective criticism implies that dissent and disagreement is not just respected, but also valued and therefore actively encouraged.
6. The cause of positive pragmatism
Positivity is about being forward leaning, open to fresh ideas and new experiences. Similar to other patterns of thought, when positivity takes hold, it is infectious, enabling and enriching. Therefore a culture of positivity is essential for any organisation to be successful, because it creates a climate orientated towards adaptability and flexibility as well as one that is more likely to facilitate change. In such environments, innovation and initiative can thrive. Aligned to this, a culture of pragmatism is necessary because even when an organisation is positive and forward leaning in its outlook, it still needs to be disciplined in its approach. When positivity is grounded in pragmatism, organisations are better able to grow, develop and mitigate risks.
7. The evidence of competence
Unlike capability, which is a measure of ‘what you can achieve’, competence is a measure of ‘what you have accomplished’. The culture of competence is important not just because it produces results, but also because competent organisations win confidence, build trust and exert influence. Yes, competence is the ultimate brand-builder because it can be evidenced, is provable and observable. The culture of competence creates successful organisations because, when it represents the critical mass of practice, it lifts everyone. Within a culture of competence, the average become good, the good become better and the better become greater. The culture of competence creates a tide upon which all boats can rise.
8. The ‘oxygen’ of creativity
Creativity is the ‘oxygen’ of any organisation. Creativity speaks to an appreciation of the fact that organisations are essentially ‘living entities’. As such, in order to survive, they must be competitive and successful. However, if they want to be competitive and successful, then they must remain relevant. Thinking of it in this way makes sense because relevance relies on the ability to use creative capacity (ingenuity, discovery and resourcefulness) to constantly evolve and transform. In a rapidly changing consumer environment, reasoning that seems relevant today, may quickly become irrelevant tomorrow. Therefore in successful organisations, the need to control and the impulse to stifle, will always give way to the permission to try and the need to adapt.
In conclusion, organisational culture is established when the clarity of values and the repetition of behaviours, translates into organisational standards and when the adherence to standards establish organisational norms. For the most successful organisations, culture functions like hard code in a software programme — once embedded its execution becomes logical, sequential and predictable. As such, successful cultures don’t just deliver results, they ensure that those results are repeatable and therefore sustainable over the long term.
