I came across yet another article that chose to take a limited approach to organizational culture.\u00a0 There are many out there.\u00a0 They talk of a \u201cculture of accountability,\u201d or \u201ca learning culture,\u201d or, like this one, \u201ca culture of happiness.\u201d\u00a0 Yes, all of these things are important, but they are only small parts of what comprises the whole of the cultures that exceptional organizations have.\u00a0 And while each of these exceptional organizations have their own unique cultures, there are strong similarities, in that they all exhibit the Seven Elements of High Performance\u2122.\u00a0 We have chosen to call the cultures that exhibit these similarities as a Culture of Engaged Performance\u2122.\u00a0 This term goes beyond describing just one aspect of the culture, such as \u201chappiness\u201d or \u201caccountability,\u201d but focuses instead on the results that this culture provides for the organization \u2013 Performance<\/i>.\u00a0 It also includes how we are obtaining this performance; through the engagement of employees, which provides a sustainable approach to obtaining high levels of performance.<\/p>\n
So what is culture?\u00a0 A simple, but very effective definition of culture is \u201chow we do things around here.\u201d\u00a0 How we do things is comprised of two components: the processes through which our work flows; and how we interact with each other, both inside and outside of the organization.\u00a0 If we look to the Seven Elements of High Performance\u2122 Model, we will find that the two Foundational Elements of Personal Responsibility and Trust exemplify these two components of culture.<\/p>\n
Personal Responsibility is about allowing employees to make decisions about their work.\u00a0 Having good processes in place and the right information will allow employees to make good decisions.\u00a0 As we look at Personal Responsibility in the model, you will notice that there are three other elements that are located right below it: Strengths, Innovation, and Vision.\u00a0 These elements are the supporting elements that contribute to the process part of culture.\u00a0 First, if we are going to have employees make good decisions, then they need to be developed to the point that they have enough mastery of their job that they can make those good decisions.\u00a0 They need the right skills and good information, but they also must know what is important to accomplish, or the Goals that are an integral part of the organization\u2019s Vision.\u00a0 Together, the Mastery part of Strengths and the Goals part of Vision help lead us to Personal Responsibility.<\/p>\n
But if employees are simply going to blindly follow a set of processes that are based on training and a measurable outcome, then where does \u201cdecision-making\u201d come in?\u00a0 Obviously we can\u2019t train for every situation or have a process for every possible problem.\u00a0 We have to give employees the latitude to solve these problems or issues as they arise, based on their training, experiences, and the things that matter.\u00a0 This is where a huge dose of Innovation comes into play.\u00a0 We have to empower employees to constantly seek out ways to make things better and solve problems, both internally and for our customers.<\/p>\n
The caveat, however, is that employees can\u2019t just make any decision, even if it will help us to accomplish our Goals.\u00a0 This is where \u201chow we interact\u201d with others comes into play, and now we look to the Foundational Element of Trust.\u00a0 No matter how good our processes are, they will not function well if we do not Trust our employees to make good decisions and take Personal Responsibility.\u00a0 As we look at Trust in the Seven Elements Model, we see that there are also three other Elements that are right above it: Vision, Leadership, and Strengths.\u00a0 The Purpose and Values aspect of Vision is what keeps employees from making just any decision to accomplish the Goals, as all decisions must be in keeping with accomplishing the Purpose, and within the boundaries set forth by the Values.<\/p>\n
Leadership is what connects employees and their work to the Vision of the organization, and allows them to become emotionally engaged and want to see that the organization is successful.\u00a0 It keeps them focused on using the Values of the organization to make good decisions.\u00a0 Leadership also keeps them focused on the Four Behaviors that Build Trust\u2122, which helps them build good interpersonal relationships with others, both inside and outside of the organization.\u00a0 Perhaps this interaction component is the most important part of culture and how we do things, because no one wants to work with or be a customer of someone that they do not Trust or get along with.<\/p>\n
This takes us to the Element of Strengths, and Accentuating the Positive.\u00a0 It is so much easier to have trusting relationships when we are in positive environments.\u00a0 Research indicates that negativity is not only emotionally draining, it drains energy.\u00a0 Less energy leads to less work, less focus, and less performance.\u00a0 Energy, is a huge resource in the organization, and can become a force multiplier if it is positive, while negative energy simply sucks the life out of the relationships in our organization.\u00a0 This is perhaps one of the biggest challenges of leadership; overcoming the negative and, instead, Accentuating the Positive.\u00a0 But when we do focus on the Positive we make those we lead stronger, and our organization stronger (hence, the connection to the Element of Strengths).<\/p>\n
Managers set the stage for encouraging positivity in the organization.\u00a0 Yes, it can be a challenge for some.\u00a0 This can lead to an unnatural, or forced attempt to be positive, where the manager comes across as phony or even \u201cPollyannaish.\u201d\u00a0 The goal is not to become sugary-sweet or avoid problems or issues, but rather to acknowledge and deal with them in a straightforward and supportive manner, focusing on the problems or issues; not on punishment or some other negatively contrived outcomes for the employees who are dealing with these challenges.\u00a0 Simply showing some care and concern for the employee and support for them and their work will go a long ways towards increasing positivity throughout your entire organization.\u00a0 When managers take the attitude that their job is not to find problems and punish employees, but rather to find what is going right and encourage employees to do more of it, they then begin to change the organization and its culture.<\/p>\n
There is one other element that is perhaps the most important of all.\u00a0 I stated earlier that culture is simply \u201chow we<\/i><\/strong> do things around here.\u201d Culture comes from the People in the organization.\u00a0 While the physical surroundings, resources, and other external, inanimate factors have an impact on us, it is really our reactions to them and our decisions about how we are going to move forward that puts them into play.\u00a0 We decide how they will influence our decisions and how they will impact our organization.<\/p>\n We also decide how we are going to interact with others and if we will Destroy or Build Trust with them.\u00a0 We decide if we are going to have a positive workplace and if we are going to live our Values.\u00a0 We decide if we are going to develop ourselves and others and share information with them so that they can take Personal Responsibility for their work and having successful outcomes to achieve our Goals.\u00a0 We decide if we are going to be Innovative in order to solve problems, please customers, and keep moving forward to insure longevity of the organization.<\/p>\n We make these decisions, not just the CEO or any individual manager, but everyone in the organization.\u00a0 It takes all of us, and it is all of us that make up our culture.\u00a0 It is the People of the organization that create the culture, live the culture, and can change the culture, for the better or for the worse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some questions to consider:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you cannot answer \u201cYes\u201d to each and every question, then that question might give you some information about where to put some efforts as you strive to create a Culture of Engaged Performance\u2122.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can learn more about a Culture of Engaged Performance\u2122 and other related concepts in Gary\u2019s next book \u201cRising Above Mediocrity: The Path to Performance,\u201d which will be released in 2014.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I came across yet another article that chose to take a limited approach to organizational culture.\u00a0 There are many out there.\u00a0 They talk of a \u201cculture of accountability,\u201d or \u201ca learning culture,\u201d or, like this one, \u201ca culture of happiness.\u201d\u00a0 … Continue reading \n