Jesse Jacoby
Ask 100 managers how they define organizational culture, and you’ll probably get as many different definitions as possible. Even scholars cannot agree; and that means that your definition is as appropriate as anyone else’s. This makes the challenge, however, of creating the culture that you want particularly difficult, because it is almost impossible to hit a target that is ambiguous.
How can you describe something abstract in concrete terms?
How do you say, “This is what I want,” when there is no this to point to?
And how do you say, “I don’t want that,” when you cannot point to it either?
At best, you can only identify parts of instances or results that please or displease you.
Perhaps that is the wrong way, or at least the less helpful way, to look at it.
Before you can decide what culture, you want, you need to consider the elephant in the room. The elephant is that culture, no matter how you define it, is touchy-feely. It is all about the people in your organization and their collective attitudes, expectations, and behavior. And so, whatever you want must be thought of in terms of what they do; how they’ll act and react collectively.
The easiest way to decide what culture you want is to start with someone else’s definition, and then add to it according to your needs.
For example, organizational culture has been described as a kind of personality. When you think about it like that, then you can delineate between the one in your organization and the one in someone else’s. You may not be able to identify all the differences exactly, but at least it will give you a starting point.
One characteristic might be the way your organization thinks or the assumptions that it makes. Another could be what people believe about its capabilities or weaknesses. Another could be the things that are important to them.
There will also be norms that define whether the rules, written or unwritten are followed, what to expect if they are, the consequences if they are not, and who makes them. All these things contribute to that elusive intangible called culture.
One study describes culture “as the emotional environment shared by members of the organization. It reflects how staff feel about themselves, about the people for whom and with whom they work, and about their jobs.”[1]
This sense of sharing is central to most definitions, and things such as expectations and attitudes create emotions.
How perceptions factor in
There is another aspect, however, that needs to be considered. It is how people at different levels in your organization perceive one another, not so much as to whether they are friends or enemies, but how they interpret what you do and your reaction to things that they do. It is how people interact with one another under a recognized authority that creates the culture in which everyone works.
For example, the expectation of a bonus can create positive feelings; but those feelings can be quickly dashed if that extra money is not forthcoming. It does not matter how strong your business case is for why you changed your mind. When you raise hopes like that and then fail to deliver, then the current mood will either change or be reinforced.
It could change if it is out of character for you, or if there are suspicions about your motives. The current negativity could also be reinforced if this is not the first time that it has happened.
Circumstances like that will change the perceptions that people have of you, and it will alter their future behavior. It may make them more cautious or circumspect. They may brush up their resumes, and some of your key people may leave.
There is nothing that you do or do not do that does not have some effect on the culture in your organization. That is why you cannot afford to overlook or discount people’s feelings. In fact, you must always ask yourself what people expect before you make a decision that will affect them. In other words, before you make any decision – business or otherwise – you need to think through the impact it will have on them, because how they act as a result will influence the change that occurs in your culture.
That is not to say that you should not make a particular decision; only that you must consciously be aware of what could happen internally as a result.
You may feel that this inordinately ties your hands; but the thing is that people will have feelings about what you do regardless, so why not take them into account at the beginning?
If you prepare for what the outcome is likely to be, then you can mitigate the consequences; but if you ignore them altogether, then you may do untold damage.
Remember that it is the people in your organization whose feelings lie at the root of the culture you have.
There is another way that you influence the culture. It really comes down to what people are expected to do compared with what they do or can get away with.
Do you, for example, enforce company policies equally? And do such policies give equal protection?
You see it is possible to have policies which by nature are unequal; to have a kind of built-in discrimination. There was a time, for instance, when enlisted members of the US military were not allowed to receive some of the same medals as the officers, even when the circumstances warranted it. Thankfully, that was changed some years ago, but it is an example of how organizational policies themselves can discriminate against people unfairly.
Understanding the thoughts-feelings connection
The discussion thus far about feelings should drive home why they are so important. Nevertheless, there are still those who believe that they do not have time to “make nice.” These people lump all that “touchy-feely” stuff into the category-of-no-consequence; it-doesn’t-matter category.
If that is you, then you will never get the culture that you want. That is because feelings come from thoughts. What people do is based on what they think, consciously or subconsciously.
It is why those who think highly of their managers will do anything for them, and why those who do not only work for them because for one reason or another they cannot change jobs.
Culture is a manifestation of the feelings that people have about what you do, whether you make their lives better or worse and on many levels.
If they think that the rules do not matter, then they will not follow them.
If they think that you play favorites, then they may try to become one. Alternatively, they may try to sabotage the work of someone that you favor. That is because they are not looking for your admiration. Instead, they are just trying to level the playing field; to make things fair.
You cannot avoid the feelings of those in your organization simply because you do not happen to like that component in people.
How can you create the culture that you want?
By working backwards. By deciding what you want people to do, to believe, and to think about the organization – what it does, what it stands for, and who it helps.
When you make the connection between them, then you will be well on the road for creating the organizational culture that you want.
Write it down. Articulate it. Revise it often, and then remind yourself of what you want to achieve. And each time you contemplate a policy change or make a decision that will affect your people, ask yourself what impact it will have on the culture that you claim to want.
In that way, you will stay on course.
[1] Hoag, B G, Ritchard, H V, and Cooper, C L (2002). Obstacles to effective organizational change: the underlying reasons. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Vol 23 No. 1, pp. 6-15.
