Culture – Dish Of The Day?
It seems that organisations these days are obsessed with having the “right” culture. They are seeking to recruit people with the “right cultural fit”. There are a myriad of articles promising that achievement of this mystical “right culture” will be the panacea for anything from weathering COVID, through delivery of projects to ensuring the profitability of the staff canteen. Ok maybe not the last one.
Some organisations even have a “culture” programme. To me this seems to presuppose that an organisation can simply project-manage the “right culture” into existence. Surely if it was that easy, then you could just “agile” it into being. (Take a chill pill, agile-folk, I’m only teasing!). Why is it, or does it appear to be, so darned difficult?
What does anyone actually mean by “culture” anyway? I looked it up. From the Cambridge Dictionary (other dictionaries are available):
culture
noun
UK. /ˈkʌl.tʃər/ US. /ˈkʌl.tʃɚ/
culture noun (WAY OF LIFE)
B1 [ C or U ]
the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time:
youth/working-class culture
She’s studying modern Japanese language and culture.
culture noun (GROWING)
[ C or U ] BIOLOGY. specialized
cells, tissues, organs, or organisms grown for scientific purposes, or the activity of breeding and keeping particular living things in order to get the substances they produce
culture noun (ART)
B1 [ U ]
music, art, theatre, literature, etc.:
You won’t find much culture in this sleepy little town, I’m afraid!
popular culture (= the books, music, etc. liked by most people)
When looking at this definition, one could presume that organisational culture will have something to do with the “general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people at a particular time.” Not something you can or should try to impose. Not unless you want to join the ranks of some not unremarkable leaders, but not ones that are often admired in polite society.
The imposition of customs and beliefs, through direct or peer pressure, with the expectation that these will be adopted and accepted without question, is not culture. This is dogma. Again, I looked it up:
dogma
noun [ C or U ] disapproving
UK. /ˈdɒɡ.mə/ US. /ˈdɑːɡ.mə/
a fixed, especially religious, belief or set of beliefs that people are expected to accept without any doubts
If we refer back to our definition (the one we were aiming for):
“the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time”
…this can also be related to the definition relating to art, theatre literature etc particularly in that it is “liked by (most) people”. Now you can’t go around telling people what they can and can’t like (notwithstanding comments above about certain kinds of leaders). So how do we get to a “good/right/better culture” without trying to impose our beliefs and values on people, and of course expecting their unquestioning obedience?
This is where my Petri dishes come in!
When scientists seek to grow “cultures” they set up the correct environment for the things they are seeking to grow. They provide the appropriate temperature and humidity, the right conditions to nurture precisely the organism which will thrive there. If something is off, then maybe they won’t get the result they were hoping for and the same is true for organisations.
The culture which any organisation seeks to achieve is something which needs to grow organically. The organisation (from top to bottom) needs to create the perfect (or near as dammit) conditions for the desired culture to grow. Then it needs to nurture it, rather than try to command it into existence. It is especially important for the leadership of an organisation to realise that they sit in the Petri dish with everyone else. They are not wearing the white coat in this situation, but are an integral part of the conditions which will create and affect the culture, and therefore how it turns out. Whether that is a beautifully functioning, healthy organism, or some nasty feral fungus that seeks to take over the lab.
Make your culture what you want it to be, by being an integral part of that culture. If you want a tolerant, transparent, responsible culture, be a tolerant, transparent, responsible leader. If you want a culture that embraces diversity and equality, ensure that your team is not only diverse in background, outlook and personal characteristics, but in opinion as well. (More on that story another time perhaps). Even when, or possibly especially when, they don’t follow the “party line”.
Alternatively, if you would prefer an environment full of people who all think the same, share your beliefs and values with unwavering acceptance and without question, then you are not out to create a culture. Go start a cult.
