Who even cares about culture?

Robin Ridgley

One of the issues we all face in managing complex change and transformation is affecting changes in culture.

Culture is one of the most complex and important concepts for any organisation. It’s the basic essence of who you are, it’s the deeper level of the basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by colleagues.

Culture operates unconsciously. In many organisations, culture is ‘taken for granted’.  

Culture can be deliberate or organic. Either way, all organisations have a culture. As a leader you are involved in the culture of your organisation whether you choose to be or not so the question you need to ask yourself is are you comfortable with the way things are or do you need to do something about it.  

So as the title says – Why should you even care?

I wish I had the ability to shout at you through the screen and answer the question.

BECAUSE YOUR PEOPLE WANT YOU TO CARE!

An organisation is made up of one of the most complex operating systems ever created Human Beings.

At work we aren’t just our jobs; we are all the hopes, fears, dreams, aspirations, challenges, and experiences that we all have as humans. 

Everyone has a part to play in the culture of an organisation, it is not just something that is done to them, as colleagues we are invested in the culture every day.

We spend a lot of our waking life at work, so it seems reasonable that colleagues want a sense of engagement and purpose with what they do for a living.

According to a report on Global Leadership purpose-driven companies experience the following benefits for being actively and authentically engaged in leading a positive culture.

  • 12% higher engagement levels than non-purpose driven ones.
  • 14% of colleagues are more likely to stay and the overall culture tends to be more positive.
  • Purpose-driven companies outperform the rest of the market by a huge 42%.

So, at the very least, instilling a sense of purpose and caring about your culture in your organisation must be an approach worth considering right?  (Don’t make me shout at you again!)

Finally.

A great culture isn’t always that easy to find. The more you make the effort to see a human being first, before the organisation the easier it is to create the stories that are truly engage and inspire your colleagues.

That is why you should care about organisational culture in your organisation.

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