The Importance of Culture
Please watch the video at YouTube, The Definition of Culture https://youtu.be/CyrC9iLQF0s
Since publishing The Leader With a Thousand Faces earlier this month, I have received many questions and suggestions for further discussion. A friend suggested starting this newsletter as a way to start a dialog with readers on the topic of leadership. Today’s newsletter is the inaugural issue of The Leader’s Journey.
Culture
The need to understand and work within an organization’s culture is implicit throughout the book. Corporate culture is the result of behaviors. To build a culture, you must encourage the behaviors in people that will lead to a sense of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that you want to characterize your firm. The culture you encourage needs to support your organizational objectives. The behaviors must also be sustainable. When the behaviors become embodied in the workforce, they become traditions. When they are committed to paper, they become a bureaucracy. Culture and traditions evolve as the world changes.
Barbara Tober once said, “Traditions are group efforts to keep the unexpected from happening.” Traditions help keep good things happening again and again.
Even in companies with great cultures, it is essential to be on the alert for inconsistencies and unintended consequences. A friend of mine reminded me of some shared experiences we had when working for a firm routinely recognized as one of the “best places to work’ in various surveys. Here are three short stories about three managers. I will call each of them Jethro regardless of gender. (Feel free to assign the last name of your choice – Bodine, Tull, or Gibbs.) Each of these individuals was recognized as a high performer. Others were encouraged to emulate.
Story 1. Several of us were scheduled to host a conference call from a customer’s office at 8:00 am. We agreed to leave the hotel at 7:00. Jethro was 20 minutes late arriving in the lobby. Knowing we would arrive late, Jethro unsuccessfully tried to start the meeting from his phone. When that failed, Jethro spent the remainder of the drive and much of the rest of the day criticizing the organizer for not scheduling the meeting so it could be started remotely.
Story 2. Jethro requested that a test plan be developed to deploy new iPad-based applications for the global sales force. The associate prepared a plan covering multiple scenarios and use cases by region. There were over 100 tests in the plan. Jethro determined that the client only needed 20 to 25 tests and directed the associate to simplify the plan. When presented to the customer, they objected to the inadequate testing. Jethro threw the associate under the bus and removed her from the testing project to save face. When complete, the test plan numbered over 150 tests.
Story 3. Jethro routinely had his team work until 1 or 2 in the morning and expected them back at work by 8. Jethro expected this every day of the week. (To his credit, Jethro was right there with them.) Jethro would routinely call people on nights, weekends, and holidays to make assignments that were due in a matter of hours. The work produced was rarely, if ever, used.
As my friend and I talked about these and other incidents we witnessed and experienced, we thought about the unintended consequences of the company culture. Each of the managers regularly exceeded their metrics. Public praise, awards, and promotions were common. My friend and I know of at least eight people who left the firm because of these individuals. The turnover rate in this firm in the first five years is very high. These and other counterproductive behaviors drove a lot of talent away.
I respect this firm. I learned much in my time there and made many friends. I just wonder how much better it could be.
What I’m Up To
I am volunteering at the Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club this week. I’m doing this for three reasons.
Several of my friends have volunteered for many years. They are always talking about how much fun they have. Now that I describe myself as semi-retired, I can make these types of commitments.
I have always wanted to play this famous and historic course. I traveled 40 or more weeks per year during my consulting career. I never had the opportunity to meet or work with a member who could invite me. The main perk of volunteering is an opportunity to play the course.
The most important reason is the charities that are supported. The 2021 tournament raised over $13 million for Fort Worth and Tarrant County charities. The PGA Tour is unique in that each event raises millions of dollars for various charities. Other sports leagues and teams support charities but none to this extent.
Quote of the Week
“The future comes one day at a time.” – Dean Acheson
The Leader With A Thousand Faces is available on Amazon.
The post also appears on LinkedIn and Medium. Medium is a great source for interesting articles on almost any subject. I encourage you to check it out.
My goal is to make this newsletter as interesting and valuable as possible. Please share your thoughts and suggestions for improvement. If there are specific topics in leadership you would like me to focus on in future issues, please send them my way.
