Organizational climates vary significantly from company to company and from industry to industry. What used to be appealing to the workforce – such as consistency and stability (from the company) – offered equal value to said company, such as unwavering loyalty (from the workforce). Now, several generations later and beyond the traditionalists and Gen-X-ers, corporations are being asked to adjust to a new wave of normalcy. Millennials are the largest generation yet and are searching for companies with distinct characteristics. These are the characteristics that comprise a corporate culture.
[Note: This is not a bad thing! I get it -- change intimidates: There is a fierce desire to cling to a present reality. However, that does not make us smarter, more innovative, and more competitive. I highly encourage you to embrace new methodologies and to learn from the generation that will be integral to our future composition.]
Culture is broad term – one that we use to define macro-cultures e.g., America; as well as micro-cultures such as a workplace (which is a micro-micro-micro culture). In defining culture, we attempt to attract talent and maintain said talent. Leveraging culture as a recruitment tool is a no brainer. The key, however, is to exude and embody the culture you aspire to possess.
Go into self-reflection mode for a moment. Have you ever interviewed with a company to learn their culture – the values that make the world go ‘round within the company – are in complete alignment with your own? Then, did you also join the team to later learn the idealism of their company culture was far from the reality? Odds are you’ve experienced this mismatch.
Nine out of 10 times, senior leadership thinks their culture is something it is not. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In extracting key issues and clear opportunity, companies are able to recreate who they want to be, or discover they simply have a piece of the puzzle that has been stifled or poorly communicated. From there, company leaders are empowered to make changes. If we go back to the initial point: awareness of company culture is a must to stay competitive. Millennials have optionality and won’t necessarily hang around while you figure it out!
I’d argue that the key here is humility. A foundational and absolutely necessary leadership trait. When company leaders are humble about not knowing everything, there is ample opportunity for improvement, sustained happiness, and decreased turnover.
Next week we will explore some outcomes of cultural assessments (from the thermometer principle). By identifying structural differences in organizations, often stemming from our own world beliefs and macro or micro-cultural influences, we come to understand the probability of conflict. It is then, when we understand the root of (some) conflict, empathy levels increase and we become more aware of what may be transpiring in our own place of work. This yields healthy discourse about the way we see the world and opens the door to resolution.