Culture is a term that everyone uses but is not easily defined. More importantly, few people can tell you how to change it with practical ways that are readily adopted by the organization.
Why Does Culture Matter?
If you want a high-performance organization that is able to produce extraordinary results, then culture matters. An organization’s culture shapes and influences people and the nature of their interactions within an organization. Culture is strongly influenced by norms associated with behavior, leadership, and the organization’s pattern of conversational dynamics.
High-performance organizations rarely occur naturally. They must be created, nurtured, and managed. This takes leadership at all levels. Exemplary performance is a function of exemplary leadership. Leaders throughout the organization must learn how to create and lead more effective teams, and, to create a culture of success, they need an effective working methodology to consciously and systematically cultivate teamwork within the organization.
Doing this requires investments in three key areas:
- Creating a shared vision adopted by the entire company and strategic goals that create a “game worth playing.”
- Developing a compelling Value Directed Strategy™ to bring forth the shared vision and strategic goals.
- Building a culture of operational excellence by building a commitment based, process-focused organization, and developing highly effective cross-functional teams.
