Organizational culture: for breakfast, lunch & dinner
Many years ago, I was introduced to Peter Drucker’s alleged quote, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” As the strategy and policy wonk for a large department at the time, this saying ran anathema to many of my core beliefs. How could anything supplant or replace the magnetic role of strategy, of building and aligning to a common, aspirational vision and implementing actions that brought to life a desired future?
Admittedly, it was a quickly replaced rookie mistake, realized as soon as I stepped into a leadership role. In that capacity, I rapidly grew to recognize the overwhelming importance of organizational culture, of how the general wellbeing of staff mattered far more than a common direction or sound policy. I could have created the best strategic documents, the most definitive and clarifying policies, but neither made a difference if the team I supported did not feel engaged, safe, or aligned. How could any leader expect a team to prioritize something as ephemeral as strategy over deeper threads of teamwork, connection, and trust? It was a Jedi moment: culture really does consume strategy with a side of toast.
I see organizational culture simply “as the way we do things around here.” It is the DNA of the organization or team, the tacit, often unsaid approach to work. In most organizations, we are all traditionally structured into charts of boxes and wires, diagrams that position us within the institution based on like-functions or other HR approaches. Yet these are mere placeholders. They do not constitute a true team, no matter the naming conventions or titles appointed. One cannot magically bring people together, anoint them with titles and core functions, and then expect a powerful, unifying organizational culture to emerge, like a unicorn whispered into life.
Building a dynamic, safe, vibrant organizational culture takes a great deal of time, energy, and intentionality. It is deliberate, conscientious, and effort-full. It demands will, resilience, patience, and kindness, of self and others. It is - in its own way - an undertaking of love, an act of service to others to create the conditions that allow them to thrive. It is NOT lip service to placards on the wall or ceremonial moments of acknowledgement - these are talk, without the walk. Through deliberate design and effort, building a resonant, living, beautiful organizational culture involves cultivating the environment you as a leader would want to work in, one where trust reigns, high engagement prevails, and fun has deep roots.
The benefits of such a culture are well documented. A Google search on the effects of a strong organizational culture highlights thousands of pages of research and hundreds of videos, images, and charts. Despite all the evidence, however, so many organizations and leaders operate to the contrary: they spend little time nurturing the many micro- and macro-steps that evolve into a place - a work environment - in which all can thrive. Their reasons are many … lack of time, lack of willpower, capacity challenges, resource constraints, and more. Yet there really is no excuse for doing what is required of every leader. Simply put, it is the fundamental role of every leader - no matter their position in the organization - to purposefully create the conditions (the DNA) that allow all to flourish.
The best journeys are often the hardest, and the path to a vibrant organizational culture is no different. Over the next several blogs, I’ll highlight a number of steps you can take to nurture a highly successful organizational culture, one that prioritizes trust, co-creation, communication, appreciation, impact, and accountability.