8 Common Traps about Culture (and How to Avoid Them)
By Karin Stawarky
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This familiar Peter Drucker quote has been heard on so many conference stages, in team meetings, and hallway huddles. Yet we still can’t seem to learn this lesson. I am fascinated by insights like these -- about organizations, about teams, about leadership – that we have ‘discovered’ over the decades yet fail to systemically respond to. We are surprised when we experience the repercussions of old ways of doing again and again.
In my career, I have worked with organizations across the spectrum – those with a handful of employees to those with thousands of employees distributed around the globe, from early stage companies to hundred+ year old entities. I witnessed the authenticity of attention and effort that is paid to culture – and the weight it is given by the executive leadership as a strategic lever – vary just as widely.
Beware of the Traps
There are some common traps about culture that I observed in organizations regardless of their size or maturity. Each trap is linked to quotes inspired by things heard in organizations:
• Product is king: “We’ll figure out culture once we have a viable product.”; “Culture is the soft, fluffy stuff. Proving our product works is more important.”
• Rose colored glasses: “We are all smart, nice people … I don’t see an issue in us figuring it out and getting along.”
• Someone else’s job: “Our HR person will figure out the culture piece.”; “Culture is just something the HR team is responsible for.”
• Checking the box: “We did an engagement survey – so our employees feel like they can influence the culture.”
• Hopeful osmosis: “A lot of us are from Company X. We like that culture; I think it works for us.”
• Values as the ‘end all be all’: “We’ve defined our values. Isn’t that sufficient?”
• The perks mirage: “We have all the perks in the office for employees – free food, drinks, games, sleeping pods, cool music… what more do you need?” or “We have epic company events. That’s what defines our culture.”
And perhaps the most insidious one:
• Incubating the bad seed: “Even though Person X is toxic to our culture, they are such a good [engineer, salesperson, analyst, etc.] we won’t address it or fire them – after all, it’s only one person.” or “Person Y is the best in their field but has a reputation of burning through teams… we need to hire Person Y because the Board believes they are necessary to raise the next round with investors.”
All of the traps are problematic. While each is distinct, I argue that they all reflect flavors of the underlying assumption of “we’re different” and its twin: “it [everything bad that I’ve seen or heard happen elsewhere] won’t happen here”. But organizations are more alike than they are different. Organizations are human systems, just like families and communities (be they religious, academic, civic, social, etc.). From relationships and roles to rules and rewards, as humans we orient and act in patterned ways.
Mindset Mantras for Organizations that Thrive
What does it take to avoid getting caught in those traps? In part, holding following mindsets:
Culture is inseparable from results.
My mother often would tell me: “you get out what you put in.” Business outcomes are affected by the culture you perpetuate. How conducive is the culture to attracting and retaining the talent you need? Does the culture inspire people to give their full creativity and effort of their own volition, are they doing the minimum required, or even worse, are they operating from a basis of fear? The sustainability of performance is intrinsically linked to the health and vitality of organizational culture.
How we describe our culture needs be meaningful and actionable.
Culture needs to be specific to the organization, sprouting from and aligned with the organization’s unique purpose and identity. And words matter. Language must be clear and simple in describing the key cultural attributes; to be actionable, concrete supporting behaviors everyone can identify with need to be conveyed in order to create a practical daily compass.
We all own it.
We each contribute to the organizational culture of which we are a part; it is a collective consciousness that we adopt and adapt with --- or rebel against. Yes, the CEO and executive team have the greatest influence, but everyone’s fingerprints shape the culture.
We need to be in continuous integrity with what we say is important.
Unfortunately, the old adage of: Do as I say, not as I do is one that I have seen alive and well in organizations. Plaques of values hang in the meeting rooms, while decisions are made and actions persist that run completely contrary to them. This is true at all levels of the organization. From headquarters to the front line, there must be congruence between what we define as our compass, and our words, our actions, and our nonverbal behaviors.
Our work on culture is never “done”.
Among the many lessons I have learned ‘from the field’ – as an executive, a trusted advisor, and an executive coach are 10 universal truths I hold about culture. Two of these truths for me are:
I think about culture like a garden, which needs to be continually tended and tilled. How do you approach the initial design so that it complements and respects the terrain, the climate, and your own needs and preferences? How do the parts help to nurture each other?
Then, as what you planted sprouts: What elements are thriving? What are not? What needs more of what kind of support or resources? What needs to be weeded out? How do you protect it from unwanted pests (or, destructive influences) and erosion?
Keeping the Beat
Strengthening and evolving culture needs to be intentionally woven into the rhythm of the company, just like regular business or operating plan cycles. I think of this Culture Cultivation Rhythm™ has having the following “notes” or elements:
FRAME is where you draft the primary design principles for the culture you want to intentionally develop; this is typically done by the leadership team. You ENGAGE the organization in refining those and aligning to them. The leadership team will then TRANSLATE those principles into key systems, processes, practices, etc. – effectively creating the ‘wiring diagram’. The leadership team must collectively COMMIT to living those principles themselves and hold each other accountable to them. Employees throughout the organization INTEGRATE those principles and build our or refine the organizational elements identified in Translate. The leadership team and others MONITOR the principles in reality, engaging the organization in feedback mechanisms and dialogue. Based on these insights, a point of view is defined on how the principles or the systems need to ADAPT. That triggers a new flow through the cycle.
So, what three things can you start with as you head out into that garden?
· Ensure the foundation is solid and shared. The core culture design principles (including what is important to you and how you show up to one another) are your foundation – the proverbial cornerstone on which a company is built and expanded upon. Don’t rely on your own opinion of how strong it is – engage different audiences to test people’s actual experience of it.
· Define the Culture Cultivation Rhythm™ – and stick to it. The rhythm is as much about what happens and when is it is who is involved. In the early stages of a company (or a team), you may need to go through this cycle more often than you think.
· Hold up a mirror to yourself – regularly. Everyone has an impact on a system. How are YOU living in integrity with the desired culture?
We seem surprised when the likes of a giant like Boeing and GE fall from grace. Any culture, if not regularly tended in a disciplined way, is susceptible to becoming overgrown and overrun with ‘invasive plants’, choking out the desired growth. We all need to be gardeners for the environment in which we all thrive.