THE QUALITY OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE MATTERS

There’s a new reality in the world of business – Doing things the same old way simply because it’s the way we’ve always done it simply doesn’t work anymore.  That is especially true when it comes to your organization’s culture.

THE QUALITY OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE MATTERS. Not only does it matter, but it matters a lot more than you may think.

In today’s new business reality, organizations around the world are being forced to change the way they do business. With disruptive competition, shrinking budgets, downsized workforces, customers who exhibit totally new buying behaviors and expectations, and employees who may be unclear about what the future holds for them, organizations both large and small are being forced to become innovative and find new ways to save and make money while rallying their troops for even more of the unknown future that lies ahead.

The good news is there are four key factors that organizations and their leaders can implement to ensure they thrive and not just survive in the new business reality. The first requires a paradigm shift or a shift in mindset. The second requires creating a culture that supports the paradigm shift. The third is creating the capacity for change. The fourth is cultivating the type of leadership team that can walk the talk of the new culture and develops talent to its fullest.

We can help you with each of these factors.

Here, we are going to focus on the first two factors – the paradigm shift and creating a culture that supports a paradigm shift.  We will also explain why a paradigm shift and the quality of your culture matters. Let’s begin with the need to make a paradigm shift.

Shifting from a Survival Mindset to a Growth Paradigm

A key factor to your organization’s ability to thrive in the new business reality requires making a shift in mindset from having your people focused on merely surviving in the new reality to thriving and growing no matter what reality you face. But the shift from immediate survival to planning the next steps to ensure your organization thrives creates a new set of challenges for your leaders.

If your organization is like most facing the new business reality, your people may have spent months wondering all sorts of “What if’s?” What if… there are layoffs, what if… the business fails, what if… a new management team wants to change the way we do things around here, and the list of what if’s goes on and on. When people are in survival mode, it can be difficult to get them to give their all.

Based on the latest findings from the field of neuroscience, we now know that when people are in survival mode their brains do not function in a way that opens them up to creative problem-solving.  Instead, the prefrontal cortex which is the part of the brain that provides humans with the ability to make executive decisions can get “hijacked” by another part of the brain called the amygdala.

The amygdala is the part of the brain which maintains a vigilant lookout for anything that might cause us harm.  If the amygdala perceives potential harm, it will shut off access to the prefrontal cortex and divert all available resources to prepare you to either fight, flee, freeze or appease the perceived threat. When your people are in these mental states, they can’t perform at their best.

When organizations begin making a shift out of survival mode, they must chart and clearly communicate a new course of action to quell the fears of their people. Why is this important? Because during times of uncertainty, people are hungry for a clear sense of direction. Thus, organizations must provide a plan for moving forward to build confidence in their people and to provide them with assurances that their leaders are focused, energized, and ready to create positive results for the organization and its people.

When clarity and understanding about the new challenges the organization is facing and how, as a community, it plans to overcome those challenges are established, everyone becomes invested in making the new plan a new reality.

Creating an Organizational Culture That Supports a New Paradigm of Growth

Another key factor in ensuring your organization’s shift from survive to thrive is the cultivation of a positive, co-creative, and supportive culture. Great organizations possess strong cultures that balance an entrepreneurial spirit with a sense of discipline.

They encourage employees to forge into uncharted waters and they provide the support and a clear set of directions to guide their people’s innovative actions while mitigating risk.

Without the drive to try new things and grow in new directions, organizations become rigid, outdated, and stifling hierarchies.

Without some sense of discipline, organizations can find that their systems, processes, and procedures begin to break down as the company shifts and grows. Without a process for managing change, many organizations find themselves adrift in a sea of indecision, mired by workforces who have no clarity about their personal future, nor that of the organization and who don’t understand where the organization must head to ensure everyone’s future is bright.

The best companies have both latitudes for innovative individual action and a culture of disciplined behavior combined with the capacity to embrace change. Leaders must set and communicate the organization’s vision in a way that unites energy and action.

Equally important is having the right people with the right mindset. It’s useless to create rules that force the wrong people to behave the right way — it simply doesn’t work. Instead, organizations need to find, develop and retain people who have a sense of self-discipline that comes from within.

Is your organization’s culture operating by design or by default?

Is the culture of your organization operating by design or by default?  This is an important question because if you are operating by default in the new reality chances are your culture is not optimized and without intervention, there is a good chance it will lead to the manifestation of serious problems. On the other hand, if your culture is operating by design there is a great chance your organization will thrive.

Is your culture designed to help your people achieve their full potential or are there silos and competition among employees rather than collaboration and cooperation? If your culture is designed to help people achieve their full potential, you will be surprised at the lengths people will go to advance the organization’s vision.  Yet, if your organization is made up of silos and competition among employees rather than collaboration, co-creating, and cooperation, you will suffer a tremendous lack of productivity and incredible inefficiencies.

Are there conversational barriers holding back innovation and progress in your company?  If so, it may be time to power up your company with Conversational Intelligence®.

Resilient organizations work tirelessly to create the kind of culture they desire and they focus on building strong values, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, conversations, and practices—all core attributes of a winning culture.

If your organization is ready to create a culture by design, one that empowers your people and creates the best possible conditions for the wellbeing of your organization, then we invite you to join the hundreds of satisfied executives who have experienced an amazing transformational change in their organization’s culture and who have brought their organization to the next level of greatness. When you implement our pioneering and innovative Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ) or other cultural transformation programs, you can witness first hand how your culture can develop by design, grow and excel.