Assimilation is a process many of you may know well from having joined companies in which you, the employee, is expected to live up to the culture already created and deemed acceptable. What is being heard as the emerging voices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion takes shape, is that the old paradigm no longer works. The new paradigm taking shape is one where the company culture is learning to meet employees where they are in order to supply their needs so that companies keep staff and minimize turnover.

No longer can a company expect you to dumb down, hide or become so over flexible that you no longer resemble yourself. It is the path of inclusion and the necessary outcome is to accept, celebrate and go all out to create a sense of belonging for employees who, under the old paradigm was required to suck it up and fall in line.

Well, that line is being redrawn and looks very little like the line created for an assimilation mindset. And one of the great contributors I see is the development, expansion and deepening of Organizational Change Management (OCM). It is a science that is flooding the business to business marketplace as countless companies are undergoing an overhaul.

It is the OCM overhaul where companies are learning to listen more to their employees about what is needed and thus reimagine company culture. A culture in which we are starting to see less sameness and more difference. This is becoming increasingly crucial in order to get the great minds within a company to stay on their payroll and be a significant contribution rather than go where the grass seems greener.

As we launch this series on Company Culture we will be exploring how this new paradigm is taking shape. Should you want to get a jump on helping to shape the new paradigm of culture, I invite you to book a strategy session with me and begin exploring what you want to know about how to contribute to a culture that supports you and your professional goals. Click the button below and book a strategy session now. That is what leaders do, take action!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gficoigz1xs

As we kick off our series on company culture, it is helpful to note common and not-so-common characteristics seen in various industries. We will explore different sectors over the next several months to better understand how to navigate their structure to advance and greatly influence how your organization evolves the post urgency of the COVID environment. It also helps to further define and align with what Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Professor Klaus Schwab coined as the  Fourth Industrial Revolution, published in January 2016.

We’ll look at why 46% of job seekers in 2021 feel that company culture is essential when choosing your employment. We will uncover why married candidates value culture more than their single counterparts? What causes 94% of entrepreneurs and 88% of job seekers to say that healthy workplace culture is vital for success? How is having highly engaged employees leading to a whopping 202% increase in performance? Want to learn how to ramp up your performance exponentially? Take the leadership Styles quiz and understand where your growing edge lies.

An example of how a company stays on course is through its checks and balances that allow leaders to note where shoring up policies and procedures may prove necessary. At the same time, studied successes can provide insights on how to maximize and expand what is working to avoid choices that work less effectively.  This is akin to the workability of leadership behaviors versus skills and behaviors that do not serve the organization’s effort to move forward successfully.

Culture and policies go hand in hand.  Policies can either help or hinder your cultural ideals.  For example, when you have a strict policy on workplace etiquette and encourage people to think outside of the box, these two might not work best together.  Revisiting policies with employees encourages collaboration and compliance. 

Culture and values are not just something thought up by management that employees and associates are expected to follow.  They are the reason for what you do.  When employees can feel the purpose, they will be in alignment with company values.  When you have employees who want flexibility and put them under constant pressure to perform, you will want to rethink that policy. 

“When people act on your message, they begin to change.  They don’t just change their behavior.  They change their identity. They begin to become someone new because of your message.” ― Dr. Michelle Mazur

When culture is not reflective of company values, steps can be taken to guide it differently.  This first starts with an understanding of how you got here in the first place.  Were values defined from the beginning, or were they inherited? 

This becomes more difficult when two companies merge; there is a challenge to incorporate values in the culture.  This goes back to the top-level and how ideas are communicated. Management will want to listen to all levels below them and understand what drives people.  Then they can start to make changes that meet those needs.  This is a challenging process.  When employees are left in the dark regarding organizational changes, a merger or acquisition by another company can take them by surprise and even invoke a sense of betrayal.  Management needs to consider how this affects employees of all levels.

Putting values and goals in writing and revisiting them on an ongoing basis will also help turn the tide. It’s essential to keep the lines of communication open and engage staff participation.  Change is accomplished through discovering motivations and making sure employees believe in the values. Employees can resist change, and thus, the challenge lies in creating a culture that they can support. Approaching changes with a clear vision, management commitment, making substantial changes from the highest level, involving all those affected, and following ethical and legal guidelines will encourage success. This is where a formal Organizational Change Management initiative can help.

When a complete organizational structure change seems too challenging, a company can start with changing subcultures and working its way up.  In this approach, it’s still important to define the ultimate goal and work in smaller steps.

“Your organization’s culture: It’s either an asset or a liability. At this very moment, your culture is helping business performance. Or hurting it.”

― Tanya Mann, Five Frequencies: Leadership Signals that turn Culture into Competitive Advantage

From day one, an organization (or even a team) will start to build elements of culture.  How people think, feel, or believe about their team, position, product, or service, or how the company takes shape.  Some of it is a reaction to their surroundings; management’s guidance drives it more.  Organizational culture is how its character, climate, ideology, and image are cultivated, maintained, and strengthened over time. 

A company can guide culture with incentives such as money, status, recognition, and advancements.  They can also influence it with sanctions.  The background of each individual can also determine culture.  Perspectives can drive how culture evolves.  Culture is not static; it ebbs and flows.  Management can define how they want the company to be perceived and strive to that end, and ultimately culture is a reaction to that guidance.  Culture is not based on one person. Human intellectual achievement is a collaboration of many.  It informs the core of each action, and only then can it endure.