One of the most important building blocks for a phenomenally successful organisation and an extraordinary workplace is “organisation culture”. An organisation’s culture is the only sustainable point of difference for any enterprise business. Any C-Suite Management Team can copy another company’s strategy, but nobody can copy their culture and integrate the same framework into their own business.
Workplace culture is central to your employees’ experience at work and their engagement with various stakeholders across the business. A pivotal driver of organisational success is by putting culture first so the business can scale sustainably, unlock elevated levels of performance and engagement, and meaningfully motivate and retain their talented people. An aligned and positive work culture supports employees’ productivity and their emotional wellbeing, while channelling the organisation’s ability to achieve key goals and objectives.
Culture can be thought of as the “personality” of an organisation. But culture’s importance often fails organisations due to the disruption and pressures of their day-to-day business operations. This is inherently because culture occupies an ambiguous space – although the concept is easy to understand, it can be difficult to measure and consequently keep improving.
Why is Organisational Culture important?
Initiating change during periods of success is strategically vital for any business.
Organisational culture is a shared set of values, attitudes, and practices that characterise how an organisation operates both internally and externally. It is consistent and observable patterns of behaviour in organisations. Every company has different goals, expectations, and culture describes how the company goes about setting and achieving their key objectives.
Culture is not static. It continuously evolves through deliberate interventions in organisational development, organic growth, and the transformation process across the enterprise business. It is how your leadership cultivates the approach to ensure the business direction, with stakeholders, and employees. However, it also impacts employee engagement and since high employee engagement results in great organisational performance.
Leadership defines alignment to core values
Organisational culture facilitates the achievement of an organisation’s strategic objectives. It attracts the “right fit” employees and makes those employees (who may not fit) stand out from the crowd. Marketed to both key stakeholders and customers, organisational culture mirrors the organisation’s core values and leadership (with direct insights).
Culture can be observed in how decisions are made and followed – top-down or bottom-up – and whether employees are confident with expressing their independent thoughts but without fear of critique feedback or ridicule. This also materialises through its Employee Benefits Plans and whether employees are recognised by management and their peers and rewarded for work excellence.
“Right” v. “Wrong” Culture – getting the mix right
Organisational culture and strategy are closely related but interdependent on each other. The “right” culture can be one of the reasons for the success of your organisational strategy, while the “wrong” culture can lead to inferior performance or even complete failure.
Unfortunately, many Leaders continually fail to understand the importance of organisational culture, and instead focus exclusively on strategy. This is a critical mistake as it can either support or hinder your strategy direction but should be given the stringent attention it deserves. The most distinctive aspect of your business offering lies with your culture model since it helps replicate all the organisational methods (and concepts) that impact your people’s actions and decisions.
To help understand this true connection better, the following represent five (5) key points that show how company culture helps with the transition of business strategy:
- Strong deployment of organisational culture throughout the enterprise helps stimulate employee engagement and encourages confidence (within) to execute strategies well.
- Culture determines how much risk your business can undertake – from investing in innovative technology and systems, changing business processes, to engaging with competitors and clients.
- By developing and investing in a resilient organisation culture, Leaders can easily communicate what is required from employees to adapt, pivot, and effectively manage future challenges.
- Your culture emphasises your organisation’s values to help every team implement the core business strategy (not only with excellence), but with integrity, purpose, and commitment.
- Organisational culture unites the entire workforce to deliver consistent quality work for clients and other internal stakeholders.
What are (4) distinct types of Organisational Culture?
Determine what culture gives your organisation the best chance to succeed.
When analysing Organisational Culture and reviewing in-depth, it becomes necessary to make divisions between distinct types. These types come from Robert E. Quinn and Kim S. Cameron of the University of Michigan, who investigated the qualities that make businesses effective.
Almost 90% of corporate organisations that operate worldwide can be categorised as having one or more of the following four (4) culture types:
1. Clan culture
Have you heard people refer to their co-workers as their family? Well, this is an early indication that they are working within a Clan culture environment (also known as a “collaborative culture”). This is where a significant emphasis is placed on teamwork, comradery, and team communication.
Clan culture offers a very friendly and courteous working environment where corporate ideals such as relationships, morale, participation, and consensus take centre stage. In terms of the views and engagement with leadership, Managers are often looked to as Mentors and not autocratic with their approach or decision-making.
Pros
- A happy (and engaged) team who genuinely enjoys working together.
- Improved communication between employees and cross-functional departments.
Cons
- Too much collaboration or unnecessary chatter, which results in wasted productivity.
- Inability to make tough but necessary commercial decisions because other people’s feelings are of such high priority to the team.
2. Adhocracy culture
Known by the word “ad hoc”, this type of culture lives by the philosophy that has been popular amongst many startup companies.
Adhocracy culture (also known as the “create culture”) fosters a very entrepreneurial type of work environment, where employees are encouraged to take risks and aggressively pursue off-the-chart ideas or theories. Because as a result, a lot of internal innovation, experimental learning, and growth takes place – for both employees and the organisation.
Pros
- A significant amount of innovation, collaborative ideas, and growth.
- Increased level of psychological safety as employees are more confident, feel secure with experimenting and trying new things.
Cons
- A lack of employee stability due to the investment in new initiatives.
- A sense of intimidation for new employees who do not have the expertise to work at increasing pace, ability to adapt to constant change, and aggressive milestones.
3. Market culture
Market culture (also known as a “compete culture”) because the main emphasis is placed on business results. Simply, people want to win and accomplish what they set out to do.
Employees are critically goal focused. This is driven by Leaders who are demanding with deadlines and to achieve or exceed the organisation’s success metrics. It can be a high-pressure environment to maintain sufficient pace, but simultaneously rewarding when the hard work pays off with real, measurable results.
Pros
- Employees are highly motivated, committed, and driven to achieve their goals.
- Improved stakeholder performance for the organisation because every employee is committed to success, with targeted goals and objectives.
Cons
- Encouraging constant competition with cross-functional teams can lead to an increasingly toxic work environment.
- Employees can experience stress, lack of focus, frustration with results, and even burnout because of the constant (and sustained) pressure.
4. Hierarchy culture
Hierarchy culture (also known as a “control culture”) applies to work environments that have a more structured and process-oriented but rigid framework. Most work activities, decision-making and structures are dictated by existing procedures, instead of freethinking or innovation initiatives.
Leaders are sectioned and manage their departments to ensure that their teams run efficiently. Their focus is on team stability, results, and reliable delivery for service orientated work.
Pros
- Clarity with communication and expectations because everything is self-prescribed.
- A controlled and mature environment, so employees experience a greater sense of security, predictability, and sense of belonging.
Cons
- Prioritising internal procedures over team members who have new suggestions with revitalising tasks can make the environment feel inflexible and even unsupportive.
- Too much effort to question “Why?” and rigidity with process decisions can stifle the innovation and growth required because people are too afraid to “think outside of the box”.
How does leadership influence organisation culture?
Leadership is one of the most important aspects of any organisation.
What leaders do, how they contribute, and how they act sets the expectations for their employees. When it comes to shaping the culture of an organisation, leadership plays a significant role and since the leaders are the ones who have the most influence over shaping it and the direction.
The organisational culture of a business is set by all the people working for it. For instance, leadership behaviour trickles down throughout the organisation and if Leaders are known for actioning their organisational values, it is likely that employees will follow suit. Leaders need to be aware of how their behaviour is influencing the culture of their organisation and by answering two (2) questions – Are they setting the right example? Do their actions align with the organisational values?
Developing your Culture change
Culture change is one of the most challenging initiatives that a Leader will ever take on. The process can be frustrating and at times, it is gruelling. As a Leader, there will be days that you question your decision-making and your sanity to change the mindset of your people.
Culture refers to collective mindsets (how we think?) and collective behaviours (how we act?). The complex and intangible nature of culture can often be a barrier, so too the requirement for long-term and sustained effort. Culture can be hard to shift, and thereby so often is left untouched.
The future reward is well worth the effort and especially when a Leader takes full ownership of the change initiative. By pushing precedent aside in favour of an emphasis on respect and results, Leaders indicate an unclouded vision through defined values and behaviours, holding their people accountable, and based on alignment with the desired company culture.
Drivers for Culture change determine the approach
By acknowledging your starting point for investing in culture and underlying drivers for change is critical. Your starting point for culture change will indicate the scale of effort required, appropriate level of investment, and approach to the change that you need. For some organisations this could be a full-scale culture transformation, but for others, a more evolutionary and gradual approach to change is the appropriate response.
The four (4) questions that need to be answered are the following:
- Are you seeking to evolving your existing culture?
- Are there signals that you may not be achieving your full potential?
- Is your organisation falling behind your industry competitors?
- Is your organisation experiencing a culture crisis?
Then, discover exactly where your organisation’s culture stands right now but remain as objective and open-eyed as possible! Lead your Change Management team to define your ideal culture, align your people (and processes) to that new culture, and then consistently and continually refine your new culture until it becomes an amazing place to work – and your organisation builds an industry reputation as a top-tier employer.
Summary
Sustained business success often hinges on the willingness to evolve, even during periods of prosperity. Pivoting an organisation’s culture can help it adapt to change, become more agile, and stay ahead of customer needs. By proactively refreshing the cultural elements in times of stability, this approach demonstrates the importance of not merely reacting to immediate challenges but preparing for future market industry shifts.
Leaders are encouraged to view success (not as a final goal) but as part of a dynamic process, requiring ongoing evolution of their organisational culture. It enables organisations to thoughtfully refine their culture, vision, and approach but with the freedom from the urgency of a crisis. Thereby, nurturing innovation across the enterprise nd securing a competitive market edge.
In hindsight, this strategic focus ensures organisations are equipped to manage upcoming challenges and capitalise on new market opportunities. Thriving organisations acknowledge their achievements as progressive steps towards further advancement. By actively adapting their organisational culture, they stay AGILE and resilient, securing their long-term relevance and success in a constantly changing business landscape.
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