Changing Culture Starts With You

Changing Culture Starts With You » Changing Culture

By Nathan Farr

If only I had dollar for every time I heard at a BBQ or gathering of friends and colleagues that their organisational culture is poor, demotivating, and not one that is likely to unlock discretionary effort.

The conversation typically then turns to the perceived root cause of the problem, their boss, their CEO, colleagues who aren’t pulling their weight, their systems, their technology… lots and lots of they… Who is they? Get they down here… All of these things are most likely very valid contributors, but fail to address a fundamental question.

Dependent on how cantankerous I’m feeling at the said BBQ, I often ask the following question – “What is your skin in the game?” particularly for those people in leadership roles. The answer can be confronting and often quickly segways to sporting results or current affairs. The reality is we all have a choice, we can focus on the things that we can control, or spend time in an endless loop of things we can’t control or even moderately influence, thus compounding the problem.

The steps that you take, however small to work on systems, symbols, and your own behaviour will challenge the current state culture. And through consistency and persistency (no magic fixes, I’m sorry – I don’t have fairy dust) you will be able to move to a future state culture that is far improved from where you are today.

At LKS Quaero, we help leaders to get culture change right. For more information, visit us at lksquaero.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook

RELATED POSTS