Develop Culture
Develop Culture
The culture of the organisation is the sum of its purpose, values, behaviours, principles and beliefs. The culture is made manifest through the people, ways of working and products of the organisation. Leaders play three key responsibilities in developing the culture of the organisation. First, to stimulate the definition of the desired culture working collaboratively to engage as many colleagues as possible. Second, to lead the change towards the desired culture. Third, to sustain the culture as the organisation evolves.
In A Nutshell
anAgileMind flourishes in a culture that is different from that of traditional organisations. This difference is summed up in the descriptions of Theory X and Theory Y. If we wish to lead an agile organisation then, as leaders, we need the right culture inside the organisation so that the agility we are targeting can flourish. Failing to build and sustain the right culture leads to superficial agility with a focus on doing agile, not being agile. Such fragile adoptions are likely to fail when they come under stress, with behaviours reverting to the “pre-agile” state.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”
As Peter Drucker points out, no matter how intense our strategic desire to be agile is, if we don’t have or create the right culture in our organisation, we won’t be agile.
The Role of Leadership
As leaders, we have three key responsibilities in developing, deploying and sustaining our desired culture.
Stimulate
We work collaboratively across the organisation to define the purpose, vision, behaviours, principles and beliefs. We create a compelling case for change that describes how the organisation will change and the benefits the change will bring both to the organisation and to the individuals working inside it.
Change
We lead the organisation through the change towards the desire culture. As leaders our responsibility is to change first - we become the role models that others in the organisation can follow.
Sustain
Culture must be long-lasting. We have to ensure that the features of our culture remain relevant to the organisation. We lead activities to refresh the foundations of the culture that has been adopted.
Indicators
At the centre of the organisation’s culture is the purpose of the organisation. The purpose is the single compelling statement that describes the fundamental reason for the organisation’s existence - the why for the organisation. It is the lynch-pin that everyone in the organisation can adhere to. The purpose can be elaborated with a vision that more fully describes the ideal state of the organisation.
We recognise the importance of intrinsic motivation in helping everyone in the organisation to deliver their best contribution. Mastery provides the opportunity for new leadership to emerge. Autonomy allows teams to optimise their ways of working within the context of their operation. Purpose connects the work of the team to the value being created for our customers.
The whole organisation recognises the need to continue to develop and improve its culture. As problems and opportunities are identified, the organisation experiments with changes to further improve its culture. The impact of each experiment is measured and assessed. Successful experiments are integrated into the culture of the organisation, by changing its definition and by encouraging all colleagues in the organisation to adopt new values, behaviours and principles