The Leadership Challenge

Welcome to the Leadership Challenge! So many managers and quite frankly executives hear terms like organizational culture, change management, climate and the like and wonder what does this mean to me and to my organization? Each week I will address issues facing managers through brief tutorials and examples. I welcome your comments, experiences and questions on these topics and others of interest. This week The Leadership Challenge is focused on the challenge of Corporate Culture.

The culture of an organization is critical in attracting, recruiting, engaging and retaining key talent. Culture is also crucial to meeting organizational goals and objectives. Whether intentional or unintentional the goals, priorities and actions of executive leadership ultimately form the basis of organizational culture. In other words, an organization may unintentionally evolve into an undesired culture or intentionally evolve a desired corporate culture.

A corporate culture is illustrated in the manner and to the extent in which the corporation engages in innovation, manages its talent including the activities of recruitment, engagement and development, celebrates its success including formal and informal recognition and rewards programs, continuously seeks improvement, manages knowledge, capitalizes on its learnings, and grows its resources both capital and human.

The following is a synopsis of features present in organizations that possess great organizational culture as well as those organizations that possess poor organizational cultures:

10 Features of Great Organizational Culture

1) Zealous attachment to the organization’s mission

2) A sense of pride, sincerity and cooperation (chasing the work not the dollar)

3) An attitude of constructive discontent (never stop looking for ways to improve)

4) Value based mind set and management style (decisions made consistent with the values of the organization)

5) Emphasis on creativity and innovation

6) Focus on building role models not just leaders (leaders get things done, role models get things done in an ethical framework)

7) Fair compensation and incentive program

8) A sense of high expectations and professional standards (strive for excellence)

9) Habit of celebrating successes

10) Adhering to the Golden Rule

10 Features of Poor Organizational Culture

1) Gross compensation inequities

2) A fear based management style

3) Lack of a clear path for advancement

4) Being treated poorly

5) Tolerance of poor performance

6) Broken promises

7) Putting personal interests ahead of what’s best for the company

8) Lack of recognition for superior work

9) Feeling under-appreciated

10)Lack of trust

These features represent four spheres of an organization; mission and values, processes and procedures, leadership, and people. The extent and manner to which an organization invests in these four areas ultimately form the organization’s culture. What is your organization’s culture? I welcome your comments!