Drive and manage change in your organization

How do you drive organizational change? You know your organization must change. And the direction is relatively clear. Organizational change may even be necessary to stay in business. In some cases, the need for change is immediate. Especially when the media has put a spotlight on the deficiencies of your culture. In short, your organization cannot continue the path it has been taking.

So how do you unite everyone in the organization around this change? How do you motivate “new” thinking so employees align their actions with a set of principles and values that move the organization forward and to a place of greater contribution? How do you stir things up and transform organizational practices–while keeping your devoted employees engaged? The path forward for achieving organizational change begins with defining the core culture.

First, drive organizational change by defining the core culture

What is core culture?

Core culture consists of the core principles and values that are at the heart of an organization. To clarify, they are the basis for all action. Core culture is the Purpose, the Philosophy, and the Priorities of the organization. Firstly, the Purpose is why you’re in business. Secondly, the Philosophy is how you distinctively deliver on the Purpose. In addition, the Priorities are the few other values needed that will enable the organization to thrive in the years ahead.

Be clear on what does not change

If the organization is going through transformational change, any part of the core culture may be up for some degree of change. But even with transformational change, you can often keep some of the core culture–while you infuse new principles or values. That’s the beauty of thoughtful change: you don’t have to always throw everything out. Aspects of the Purpose and the Philosophy might only need to be broadened or re-defined.  And new Priorities may need to be added to the core. This is the key to preserving an organization’s identity.

Include all in the process

Defining the core culture is not solely a leadership activity. It must involve all employees. Avoid telling employees what changes are needed. Instead, ask employees their views. Yes, employees are key assets of the organization and have valuable information that leadership must hear. Through a core culture assessment, leaders can get a reading on employee views about the need for change which can  build momentum for making change happen. You can also get a clear picture of what employees feel is central and distinctive to the culture.

The process for defining the core culture, first, starts with leadership. Collect the views of leadership by asking the core culture assessment questions. Uncover what they believe is core, distinctive and enduring about the organization. The assessment also includes questions about changes needed for the organization to thrive in the years ahead. Then, construct a closed-ended survey, based on the data collected, to obtain employee views. Next, bring together the leadership team to review the results of the culture survey and then decide the Purpose, Philosophy, and Priorities. With an understanding of leader and employee views, the leadership team can produce a clearly defined set of principles and values that will guide employees as they move the organization forward.

Next, align Practices and Projections with the core culture

Once you have defined the core culture, communicate it to all in the organization. Then, the focus of all employees is to work each day to practice and project these core culture principles and values in everything they do. The core culture must be integrated into the Internal Practices of the organization, the External Practices of the organization, and the Projections. The goal is to have system-wide alignment of Practices and Projections with the core culture. This requires an ongoing focus to embed the principles and values in every aspect of the organization. Changes can flow top/down and bottom/up. Each department, each manager, and each employee must seek ways to improve alignment of their practices with the core culture.

This is the path to bringing new thinking and change into your organization. It is an ongoing process where each day the goal is: to be better at being who you say you are.

Contact Sheila to help you drive change in your organization

Have any questions? Contact Sheila for information on her organizational culture, change, and employee engagement services. Her management consulting firm Workplace Culture Institute is based in Atlanta, serving clients globally. Use the Contact Form to email Sheila.