Reigniting the Culture Conversation – Internal Communications and Storytelling

‘Culture alignment is what makes organizations successful’. This message stuck to my mind like never before!

I attended one of the best sessions ever on a topic often considered to be ‘esoteric’ and ‘abstract’ – culture. This post is to share my personal take-aways.

Conducted by a senior leader this session had no presentation slides and no fancy video. He simply focused on one topic, weaved in three interesting stories,  told them well with a personal flair and gave each one of the participants something to reflect on for posterity.

Let me ask you – which of these two do you remember?

Your company’s vision statement that your leader shared to drive ahead or the great work your team mate did that received accolades which reflects the recognition culture in organization?

He shared three stories – the first about the movie Nemo (where the fish decides to get everyone aligned to a direction and therefore escape capture).

The second on a fire department study in the US which figured that storytelling and sharing knowledge helped differentiate a particular set of fire fighting professionals stand apart in performance from the rest.

The third from an organization infamously making news which harped on profits, productivity and revenues while a core value like safety got very little mindshare during team meetings. No points for guessing what employees considered important.

Here is what I learnt – and although they sound simple it is to me the way forward to help your employees believe truly in your culture.

–          Culture is a continuum – there are varying degrees of alignment. Employees can be completely aligned on one end and non-aligned at the other. Leaders should look at their employees through this lens and coach to get everyone on the same quadrant.

–          Culture can be measured – when you relate it to appropriate behaviors and attributes that define what your goals are. While it may be subjective at times you can see employees living the culture if you know what your organization’s culture is.

–          Culture can be built on storytelling – we tell stories everyday – be it assessment, recognition, project work, issues with office equipment, compensation. ….just about anything. What stops us from talking about employees who live the culture?

–          Culture takes time – organizations which have lasted the test of time have invested in culture building. It isn’t a switch that turns employees on or off. If you invest time to focus on the topic your employees will understand it as valuable.

–          Culture is about alignment not buy-in – you can give all the proof points to have your employees believe in you but unless they see value you will not see synergy.

–          Culture has to be always on your radar – if it isn’t reinforced everyday it will be lost in the crowd. Take time to revisit those behaviors everyday, print a sheet and reflect on what you can do in your personal capacity

–          Culture is about each of us – it isn’t about the company since we say employees make organizations and they form part of the culture. If you want your organization to change ask the person in the mirror.

Everyone has a role to play and I am doing two things to make a change personally – read and revisit the core values and share stories about people whom I know are making a difference.