How many times have we heard: “what happens here is that this is a cultural problem …”, as a way of justifying something that has been happening for a long time. A kind of sign of resignation, like that culture is something fatal, something like “we are doomed!” As if culture were like the wind, or the rain or any other meteorological event over which we have no control or which we cannot influence.
But, when someone refers to the “cultural problem”, what are they talking about? You are probably referring to the behaviors of some people that you apparently cannot do anything about.
The phrase “Culture has breakfast on strategy”, attributed to Peter Drucker, is known to all. It implies that the culture of an organization is something so powerful that any initiative will succumb or succeed depending on the culture of the organization. And despite that, knowing that it is something so powerful, many people talk about it as if they were talking about the climate: something that “is” and that cannot be changed.
What is the organizational culture?
The culture of any organization can be defined as “the way we do things here.” They are a set of behaviors that distinguish one human group from another. It is based, among other things, on values, on deep beliefs that end up reflected in how one acts. They are principles that help us to prefer, appreciate and choose some things over others. They determine our criteria for making decisions and actions, in short, they guide our behaviors.
We are all responsible
So if the culture is based on behaviors, it can be changed. It is not immune to our thoughts, words, or actions. Our words and actions have the power to create the cultural reality that surrounds us. It is not that phenomenon that is absolutely out of our reach. Culture is not “what happens”; It is what we want to happen or what we let happen.
Culture can be defined in black and white: what behaviors do we want, and what are we not going to tolerate?
Culture can be developed: if we want a certain culture, the first thing we should do is be an example of those behaviors. Live them and infect them.
And culture can be sustained: we have the responsibility to protect behaviors, promoting those we want and extinguishing those we do not allow.
A good very basic example that can illustrate a cultural change is the regulation of the mandatory use of seat belts in Uruguay. At the time, the law was challenged on the grounds that it would be very difficult to establish the habit of wearing a seatbelt to drive for “a cultural issue.” However, the fine that accompanied the implementation of the law led to the installation of a habit that in principle was not part of the culture. It is the old scheme of punishments and incentives that leads us to change behaviors. As we all know, our behaviors are a function of consequences.
The role of leaders
We have had the opportunity to work with many leaders who, luckily, see the subject of culture as one of their most important jobs. One of them one day told me: the C in CEO for me is culture, I am the Culture Executive Officer. I feel that my mission here is to ensure that we sustain the organizational culture that distinguishes us and that will make us retain and attract talent that feels and lives this culture. That is why I want to be firm in a culture of results and values. I want to make sure we have people who deliver results, but not at any price. At Xn we say that culture and leadership are two sides of the same coin. Leaders must be an example of the culture you love because you cannot ask someone what you are not. But that’s the minimum, the basics, that’s the ethical floor.
And it is not enough to be the example, leaders also have the responsibility of being custodians of the culture they love. It is the only way for culture to develop.
Shaping the culture you want implies, in addition to being an example, recognizing and promoting desired behaviors, but also having clear and sometimes difficult conversations when you see a person doing the opposite. To the limit of taking the action to unlink someone.
Those who have people in charge have to make sure that the members of the organization, starting with those who are on their teams, are related to the culture.
Culture is shaped every day
In short, the famous “cultural” problems are not fatal. Culture is not a third party problem, it is not immune to what we do. Culture can be changed. What’s more, culture is created, developed and sustained, every day. Each of us is responsible. And the leaders of the organizations have even more responsibility. Because culture is not what happens, it is what we want to happen or what we let happen.
