Culture Transformation: What Does It Take?
“The dynamic processes of culture creation and management are the essence of leadership…leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin.” - Edgar Schein
Every organization has a culture. It may not be something you or your fellow employees think about or purposely work on, but it exists — for better or worse.
Organizational culture is the way people think about how they do business on a daily basis and the way they act. Corporate culture is a way of life, cultivated over time through shared experiences, values and behaviors.
The Servant Leadership Institute addresses the subject of developing healthy, engaged, serve-first cultures in our workshop, Culture Transformation: Unearthing Possibility in Your Workplace. In its content, you’ll find the building blocks to transform your culture to one of servant leadership. Let me explain them:
Leadership Commitment — Without leadership commitment, there’s no chance culture transformation will take place. Even for small departments within larger companies, the leader must be committed to building processes and supporting behavior that’s grounded in servant leadership. The only exception to this would be individuals who make a personal commitment to be leaders who serve, no matter what type of culture they’re in.
Mission and Purpose — Why do you do what you do in your business? Your mission and purpose statement defines what you do and is an important part of creating a motivating and engaging work environment. Talk openly about what your mission means and how to achieve it. It can be used as a guide to drive daily behavior and decisions.
Values — Company values should be an organization’s ethical and moral compass. It’s best if they’re few in number and high in meaning. The company should make them come alive by taking them off the wall and actually using them to make decisions.
Clear Behavioral Expectations — Setting clear behavioral expectations for people makes everyone’s life so much easier. The goal here is to set expectations that tell people what to do, rather than what not to do. They should be action-oriented and memorable, and training and coaching on these expectations is a must.
These four building blocks of culture transformation are only part of the deep learning provided in this interactive session.
For more information on this workshop and others, visit our website at https://www.servantleadershipinstitute.com/workshops/.