Culture can be a tough subject for both organizations and their people. We all experience culture, even assimilate to it, but we can’t see culture in a tangible way that demonstrates its direct impact on both its organization and its customers.
Culture is often thought of as a set of common behaviors demonstrated by a particular group [of people]. These behaviors are considered to be the identifiable characteristics for who belongs to a group and who doesn’t. So when organizations start talking about creating cultural change, it can seem really scary. People may start to ask, if the culture changes, will I still fit in? Will the organization still uphold my values? Could I stand to lose the things that I love about my job, or the friends that I have made if the culture were to be different? It is easier to imagine a more negative change than to dream of a more positive one.
Luckily, apprehension about cultural change IS NORMAL – we all experience it – and better still, it can actually fuel us to evolve and strengthen a culture to become better than we ever imagined we would experience! Here are 5 signs to look for that positive cultural change is about to take place in your organization and what you can do to support it.
Solutions are more important than problems
When things don’t go as expected, or even take a turn for the worse, how does your leadership respond? Leaders focused on positive change are not interested in pointing fingers; they want to reward those who can respond quickly with effective solutions to diffuse the problem. Being solution-oriented demonstrates resiliency and an ability to overcome obstacles in uncertain situations. These characteristics mark the people who will help leaders and followers alike weather ambiguous circumstances of any business evolution to come.
‘Failure’ is rewarded
Once upon a time, you had a big project that you had spent months working on. You launched a new product/service into market and the customer responded by not buying it. Sales tanked. The project was a failure…. but unexpectedly, your boss sends you praise!
The phrase fail, fail fast, fail often is a buzz in business today. Failure in this instance, insinuates that an unexpected, negative or positive outcome leads to learning something new that can be applied future forward. Leaders will share and reward moments of ‘failure’ to encourage trying new, innovative strategies. Individual growth happens through this learning process and leaders know innovation leads to long-term organizational growth. Emphasize what you learned and will try next time when sharing your moments of ‘failure’.
Introspection, Reflection, Response
People are innately prone to making false assumptions and conclusions that can alter their decision-making. This is often known as bias and can come in many shapes and forms. Bias can be exhibited both independently and collectively. It is important when experiencing both positive and negative outcomes, to both internally and externally reflect on what was known and what was assumed at the start of an initiative, and how that knowledge has grown or changed since its execution. It is important for leaders to demonstrate their own learning journey as a model for how others can practice sharing their personal experiences. The ability to share these experiences builds trust and personal connection that fosters feedback as a source of learning from alternative perspectives.
Organizational goals are relatable for everyone
Sometimes goals can seem lofty and unachievable, especially if innovative strategies don’t lead to the results that were expected. Consider how leadership tracks goals. Individual, team, and department-wide goals should all ladder up to organizational initiatives. By breaking down big initiatives into smaller, more manageable and tangible goals, leaders can track progress of non-linear outcomes to help them guide business priorities. This also helps employees see how their contribution helps the greater organization. Consider how you can demonstrate progress when meeting with your leadership by breaking your work and goals into manageable, trackable tasks.
Open Communication, Consistency, and Routine
Tracking progress is hard to do if we aren’t used to doing it daily or regularly. Signs of positive cultural change include leadership working to build small habits and routines into daily operations. These habits may include, weekly 1:1 touch bases, soliciting feedback, daily or weekly stand ups, sharing wins, and peer-to-peer recognition to regularly foster learning, knowledge sharing, and performance conversations. Increased, deliberate communication strengthens leaders’ ability to set clear expectations, drive priorities, and help teams pivot with agility as business needs evolve. Embrace opportunities to share what you are working on – you never know who you may be helpful to or who may be able to help you.
Ultimately, positive cultural change is about building bridges across an organization. Cultural change moves quietly and slowly over time as new ways of working become operational norms for an organization. Positive cultural change ushers in a sense of security for employees that they can have open, honest, constructive communication with peers and leadership alike to further organizational growth through individual and team learning moments. Look for how your organization is embracing change by focusing on learning as a growth strategy.