When Culture Is The Solution

Have you ever hired new people, hoping that their enthusiasm and fresh perspectives would inspire the disengaged members on your team, only to see them become part of the problem? New hires can enter an organization excited about their prospects for success, eager to contribute great value to the organization, but then, after a few short weeks or months, become deflated, dispirited, guarded, and less optimistic about the future. To your utter disappointment, these new hires (who you likely brought in to help drive needed changes and take things to the next level) succumb to the flagging culture you were hoping to transform.

We call this the “Bell-shaped head” syndrome—a term that found common usage in the Bell Telephone system prior to its breakup in the mid 1980s. New employees at Bell Telephone were given a “Green Book” that explained all the proven policies and procedures they should follow for almost any possible scenario. New hires, it seemed, were never asked to think for themselves.  All they had to do was follow the instructions laid out in the “Green Book.” Whenever they came up with an inno­vative idea, they were told to keep it to themselves for a few years until they had learned “how things are done around here.” No one, it was believed and preached, could make creative contributions of any real value until he or she had developed what everyone called a “Bell-shaped” head. Needless to say, Bell Telephone had succeeded in dis­suading its employees from thinking creatively and innovatively—one of the reasons cited by the U.S. Government for breaking up the monopoly.

Unfortunately, the “Bell-shaped” head syndrome, along with a variety of other “not invented here” mal­adies, continue to flourish in today’s organizational cultures. These cultural weak­nesses not only hinder progress, they also turn the culture itself into a major obstacle to solving problems and getting things done. That’s why it’s important to quickly recognize any symptoms of cultural malady and weakness in your organization.  Doing so will help you promptly implement the necessary cures. Remember, your organization’s culture is either helping or hindering your people in their efforts to fulfill your expectations and deliver desired results.  Consider the following questions, designed to help you identify symptoms of cultural malady and weakness in your organization:

1. Do people who are otherwise very resourceful seem unable to overcome obstacles and make progress?
2. Do people complain about a lack of cooperation within the organization?
3. Do people frequently ask for support to move things along in the organization?
4. Do people often warn others with statements like, “That’s not how we do things around here”?
5. Do people seem personally willing to get the job done, but express doubt when it comes to getting others on board?
6. Do people hesitate committing to timelines when meeting those timelines requires involvement with the rest of the organization?
7. Do people cite different aspects of the culture—such as people not saying what they really think or facing up to hard realities—as roadblocks to getting work done?

If you find yourself answering yes to any of these questions, then you probably need to make some changes to your culture. Control your culture or it will control you. To gain a better understanding of how your culture is affecting your organization, go to www.partnersinleadership.com and select the “complimentary assessments.”  Partners In Leadership has developed a simple and effective way for you to conduct a free online assessment to help you analyze your culture.  In our next blog, we’ll explain how you can take immediate steps to begin turning your culture around.