“Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organisation is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day.” (Frances Hesselbein)
What does it take for an organisation to transform its culture from where it is today (actual culture) to where it would like it to be (ideal culture)?
If we define organisational culture as the behaviour of people within an organisation and the meaning that people attach to those behaviors, is it fair to say that every organisation experiences two types of functionings: the ideal behaviour (what we think we should be doing and what we want others to believe we are doing) and the actual behaviour (what is really going on)?
A niche company operating in the telecoms industry sought our help to navigate through this cultural transformational journey. The company has grown aggressively in the past years and in order to stay ahead of the competition, the board has identified the need for the organisation to shift from a “traditional telecommunications firm” towards a more agile, innovative and customer-centric organisation where collaboration (and a culture of “we”) become an essential part of its DNA.
Start with self-awareness
Historically there had been no consistent approach to leadership development as most training programmes had focused on enhancing technical skills at an individual level. Furthermore there was very little consistency around how the leadership team operated or what it stood for in terms of identity.
After a series of exploratory conversations, we were given the mandate to help bolster up the capabilities of the leadership team and to help them understand and define what they needed to do individually and collectively to drive the desired change, acting as change catalysts for the organisation.
We started the engagement by gauging the styles of the 32 people making up the extended leadership team. Using Human Synergistics’ Life Style Inventory® (LSI) helped build a new common leadership language in the organisation (e.g. Constructive, Passive-Aggressive, Defensive-Aggressive). It also gave individuals a solid framework from which to start looking at how their thinking and behaviour was showing up at work and the impact this was having on others.
This activity revealed a number of challenges such as a silo mentality (or lack of enterprise mindset), the strong reliance on senior management decisions, as well as a lack of teamwork and cross-functional support
Follow-up 1:1 debrief coaching sessions helped individuals better understand their own leadership style, including blind spots. An action plan helped them target the precise areas in which they wanted to change and the strengths they wanted to sharpen. “Coaching was an essential part of challenging current behaviour and gaining commitment to action” shared one of the participants.
Listening and opening up to each other
The next phase of our recommended process focused on group coaching sessions with 5/6 members of the leadership team assigned per group. During these sessions, individuals shared some of the discoveries they made about themselves via the 1:1 debrief conversations and invited their peers to share their feelings and feedback. Creating a safe setting or forum where everyone knows they are actually being listened to, without an agenda, was the first step in achieving a culture of openness and collaboration.
As a result of these group sessions and building on the discoveries made through the use of the LSI tool, the groups identified a series of norms and behaviours to exhibit with each other and their teams that would help the leadership team lay down the foundations for a more collaborative, trust based and customer-centric culture. Some of these behaviours were:
– When talking to others, distinguish facts from your own opinions and assumptions.
– Say ‘no’ when something can’t be done.
– Use inclusive language, such as “we”.
– Give constructive criticism, avoiding blame or assumptions
– Observe, don’t judge
Armed with this set of agreed behaviours, the executives attended a one-day strategy offsite which we co-facilitated with the CEO of the organisation, and with the help of HR. The objectives for the offsite were twofold:
1. Sharing the highlights of what emerged during the group coaching sessions and connecting that to the actual vs desired culture
2. Identifying levers for culture change and having an open conversation about how to take the organisation towards a more constructive culture.
The team also created a strategic plan and defined the processes that would take the organisation through its transition phase, embedding the new behaviours identified.
Of course a strong indicator for the real value of this development initiative will emerge over time from how clients are experiencing the new organisational culture. However, the perceived willingness to develop an open and healthy relationship within the team, combined with a sense of team cohesion and “we are all in this together” was visible by the time the offsite terminated, which has laid down solid foundations upon which the organisation is going to build its new culture going forward.
