Here's how you can master culture change through experience and expertise.

Culture is a complex thing and is difficult to contextualise. It is about having a shared belief in what is important both in what is delivered and the way it is delivered. Behaviours make up a large part of that, as well as the mindset towards the work itself. The key to influencing this is role modelling the desired behaviours and mindsets that make a difference to the people and work of the business and having supporting systems and processes. The biggest challenge I have seen in businesses is holding those accountable for their behaviours and outputs. This takes courage - to call out the bad and support others who call it out, and presence of mind to recognise the good.

Through my journey, I've learned that genuine transformation stems from understanding the existing culture deeply and respecting its roots. It's about fostering open communication, building trust, and aligning the team with a shared vision. Consistency, patience, and a clear strategy are key. Embrace change with a positive mindset and lead by example. Remember, culture change isn't a one-time effort but a continuous process that evolves with the organization. Teams together can create a thriving, adaptable workplace.

Um bom caminho também é realizar uma auditoria cultural, para revelar as crenças, valores e comportamentos predominantes que precisam ser ajustados. Identificar influenciadores chave dentro da organização que podem servir como campeões da mudança também é essencial. Criar um plano de comunicação claro que articule a visão da nova cultura e os benefícios esperados pode ajudar a engajar todos os níveis da organização. Utilizar histórias de sucesso e exemplos práticos pode tornar a mudança mais tangível e inspirar outros a adotarem novos comportamentos. Monitorar o progresso e estar disposto a ajustar as estratégias conforme necessário garante que a transformação cultural seja sustentável e alinhada com os objetivos organizacionais.

I was working in a highly technical space and walking past a banner with the organizational values - which included 'innovation'. This was very early career and in my naivete I asked: 'Shouldn't obedience be there instead of innovation?' Needless to say that comment was not well received. Now, further along in my professional journey - the core lesson resonates. First find out the 'true values' which help define your organizational culture. If you dont understand what people are rewarded for - you can never improve the positives or reduce the negatives. Of course I have tried to pick up some tact along the way... :)

Kultur bildet sich immanent: Sie entsteht aus der Interaktion von Individuen im Zusammenspiel mit ihren relevanten Umwelten. Kulturwandel - in der Arbeitswelt - kann meiner Ansicht nach nur über die Definition einer gemeinsamen (Arbeits-)Ethik und über das Commitment zu gemeinschaftlich getragenen Werten, Arbeitsprozessen und Ritualen entstehen. Sie sind nicht direkt adressierbar, können nicht verordnet oder gesteuert werden. Sie entstehen aus dem jeweiligen Unternehmenssystem. Schlüssel für organisationalen Kulturwandel kann die gemeinschaftlich getragene Art und Weise der Kommunikation, der Zusammenarbeit, gemeinsamer Regeln und inkorporierter Werte sein. Das geht durch die Arbeit auf der Prozessebene. Und nur dort.

An organization's culture is simply the behaviors it tolerates, not the words on the wall it preaches. Many years ago, I was working with a highly entrepreneurial organization who "preached" honesty as one of its values. Yet, the Accounts Payable people were instructed to tell vendors who called inquiring about payments that "your check is in the mail" when the invoice hadn't even been processed yet. This was the tolerated (even encouraged) behavior, so therefore it was the culture to not be honest.

De acuerdo con los trabajos que vengo realizando desde hace más de 10 años, reconocer el punto de partida es esencial. No solo basta con leer y estudiar algunas evaluaciones previas sobre clima o cultura o incluso de una encuesta. Es necesario entrevistarnos con personas de diferentes niveles de la organización para entender mejor la cultura y visibilizar las brechas respecto a la cultura que necesita la organización. Muchas veces, en este proceso, se identifica que más que un cambio o una transformación cultural, es una evolución necesaria de la organización.

I’ve been lucky enough to work in a handful of cultural change programmes, most of which were effective. In order to really drive the change you really need to get to the root cause of what needs changing. And that needs to be from all levels of the business. Far too many times, participants are hand selected to be part of the change programmes but you need to incorporate everyone’s voice, even the ‘problematic’ people, because they’re most likely ‘problematic’ for a reason. If you’re not prepared to have the difficult conversations and hear the harsh words - it won’t work.

Comprendre le comportement Heureusement, nous pouvons mesurer la culture, notamment en termes de comportements promus dans l’ensemble de l’entreprise. Notre outil de diagnostic de choix est l’Organizational Culture Inventory® (OCI®) de Human Synergistics International, qui nous permet de mesurer la culture opérationnelle actuelle d’une organisation et de définir une culture optimale pour l’aider à relever ses défis stratégiques. L’OCI fournit une image claire et un paysage comportemental de la culture d’une organisation.

Failing educational settings invariably have a lot of committed and excellent staff who are desperate for systems that lead to improvement. And there are always successes and proud traditions that can be harnessed to spearhead the improvement. The secret is to discover what should be retained and what should be changed. Examples of good practice can be used to get 'quick wins' while longer-term change is implemented.

Sometimes people make change that is just disruptive, make sure your reasons for change are relevant and necessary. Change is great but only when part of a good plan, vision or strategy.

Culture change is a sustainable process and its continuous and consistent progress is function of short, mid & long term objectives of achieving high performance culture through Talent retention, leadership building and development, values role modelling impacting business KPIs. Culture change is pertinent to ensure organisation evolution in line with dynamic internal & external environment with resilience and agility

The objective is simply to have employees model behavior consistent with the desired culture. It doesn't have to be any more complex than that. It helps to identify and contrast those behavior that DO model the intended value vs. those behaviors that DON'T.

There is a massive difference between a goal and an outcome! Understand and set out a strategy with a clear outcome and goals leading to an outcome… then apply tested techniques developing results. We developed and use CIAF because it works.

Involving key stakeholders, addressing their concerns, and building a coalition of supporters are essential strategies for fostering successful cultural change within organizations. By engaging with those most affected by the change, organizations can tap into valuable insights, increase buy-in, and ultimately drive meaningful and lasting transformation.

Consider to use story telling to explain the change in culture Relate new culture to new behaviours in known situations and share new practices triggered by the new culture to inspire the community.

Recognizing individuals as unique persons rather than task managers is paramount. Management philosophy emphasizes valuing personal dimensions like freedom, talents, and willingness to drive transformation. Philosophical anthropology in business guides team members to understand the significant impact of their actions on the common good, work environment, and culture. For agile, efficient, and sustainable transformation to occur, it is essential to move (i.e., motivate) the wills of those who form the culture from within. This means engaging with who they are (identity), committed to a common goal (purpose), and understanding the benefits it will bring to everyone (stakeholders) in the immediate and long-term future.

Es muy útil desarrollar el rol de agentes de cambio. Estos personajes ayudarán a influir en el resto de la gente la necesidad de sumarse a este proceso de manera activa. Siendo protagonistas de su propio proceso. Al ser parte activa del cambio se genera un mayor compromiso, asumiendo como suyo este proceso.

Justo hoy compartía un artículo Prosci sobre 7 aspectos clave para el cambio: 1. El primero hablaba sobre lograr un nivel de patrocinio activo y visible 2. Y el tercero resaltaba el interactuar con los empleados de la base. En uno de nuestros proyectos actuales culturales hemos trabajado varios meses involucrando en el proyecto a varios niveles del liderazgo (directivas, gerentes y jefes) y varios niveles de colaboradores (agentes de cambio y colaboradores). Esto ha sido muy importante para generar masa crítica, activa y participativa en la construcción e implementación del cambio cultural.

I agree. Pilot the proposed change. More importantly listen and act on the feedback. If necessary pilot the changes based on the feedback. Good ideas come from the strangest places and lead to great outcomes.

Uno de los aspectos a los que muchas veces no se les da la debida relevancia, es el primer paso del proceso de cambio planificado. En palabras de los modelos de Lewin / Schein, hablamos del "descongelamiento" (unfreeze). En esta etapa inicial, lo esencial es transmitir a los actores efectivamente la importancia del cambio, y crear las condiciones para el mismo, demostrando las falencias del statu quo, y a la vez reforzando la seguridad psicológica y motivación.

Depending on the extent of the culture change and the size/geographic dispersion of the employee population, this step can take many, many months to be fully realized. Be patient, committed and don't allow other organizational priorities impact the momentum. Once momentum slows or stops, it is extremely difficult to get it back again.

Last but certainly not least, culture change takes time and is a never-ending journey! Think back on what has worked for us, and, just as importantly, listen to feedback and adapt accordingly. Plan A does not work for everyone! Action and reflection are the iterative adaptation processes necessary to change culture effectively. On each iteration, your experience will broaden, and knowledge will deepen, providing better management of culture change in the future.

Culture is dynamic and constantly evolving, requiring a proactive and iterative approach to managing change. By reflecting on what is working and what is not, organizations can identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments to ensure the success of the cultural change initiative. The importance of building expertise and experience through each cycle of action, reflection, and adaptation. By engaging in this continuous loop, individuals and organizations can enhance their understanding of cultural change dynamics, develop better strategies, and become more adept at driving and sustaining cultural transformation over time.Overall, embracing a mindset of continuous improvement and learning is crucial for mastering culture change

This stage would also involve sharing best practices for fostering innovation in the development of culture change. By drawing and sharing best practices from established frameworks and findings, for example, by discussing the importance of identifying "white spaces" for innovation, minimizing expenditures or by embedding innovation within existing budgets, and also by using data to validate innovative initiatives; one could successfully explain to others how these practices can be adapted to drive culture change in other areas of the organization. Share your knowledge and solutions that work and encourage the entire organization to also benefit.

Considero que un punto importante es trabajar con toda la compañía con una Sensibilización al cambio antes de implementar cualquier cultura. Es uno de los errores comunes que he visto a través de mi experiencia laboral. Y sobre todo que esta sensibilización sea puesta en practica por un experto en psicología de grupos y que participen todos los que estén en el organigrama (dueños, directores, gerentes, superintendentes, jefes, supervisores, operadores, ayudantes, técnicos, limpieza, área de comedor, vigilancia, etc)

Unless you are a startup, you aren’t building a culture. Rather, you are renovating what is an organisation that has been through many remodels (think of the 80s and 90s fused together). It’s important to understand what you have. What parts serve you well and what needs to be revised. What do you aspire your culture to be and what do you reward. Most organisations fail to see they reward the opposite of what they aspire. Be absolutely clear about what the culture is and what the culture is not. Publicly celebrate culture progress, publicly draw attention to where culture sets you back. This may involve getting rid of high profile staff who hinder your aspirational culture. Keep coming back to the renovation to ensure it all fits.

Culture change must avoid being ethereal. Ideas that are not objectively and tangibly defined will fail to be implemented (and/or implemented consistently). Strategy drives culture objectives. Must align with process and policies. Objectives drive behaviors and rewards (or not). This is one of my passions and I’d be happy to discuss.

In my experience, Culture changes when people change, people change everyday!To become a master of culture change remember it is not going to be constant, try to be your true self and implement all the great qualities you have as a leader, coworker and team mate. Watch how others naturally act, listen to what is being said, how it is being said. Address the down falls, don’t bless them with silence. Remember to celebrate all wins especially the small wins.

Cultural change does not happen on its own. It needs purpose and leadership to be in sync. From my experience, here are the common traits of a positive culture is found within peak performing teams: > empowerment > trust > communication > collaboration > humility > fun