The difficulties with culture at work!
To continue from the last blog post… so what can (and should) we do to at least improve our workplace interactions and the state of sub-cultural understanding?
Cultural Management points:
• Train individuals to understand their own and others ‘Personal Work Style Preferences’ and ‘Personality Type’ through the use of such tools as DiSC Work-styles Analysis ® and Myers Briggs Type Indicator ®.
• Improve ‘Interpersonal Effectiveness’ buy training individuals on how to manage conflicts and negotiate successfully.
• Have people understand that their ‘Perceptions of Truth’ are less important than all the parties understanding of ‘Reality’. A bit like the story of the blind men trying to describe an elephant, one believed it was like a rope (the tail) one like a wall (its side) etc. The entire elephant is the only desirable understanding.
• Constantly develop and train all members in the organization on how to improve their Communication Skills, particularly the skill of listening.
• Implement a system (develop a company culture) that gives power and rewards those that contribute to the overall company result rather than one that attaches power and rewards to hierarchical positions.
Working on “Behavioural Norms”
A final few ideas on improving the state of sub-cultural understanding in the workplace?
• Positive ‘Behavioural Norms’ such as courtesy, professionalism and ethical behaviour need to be instilled in all by the organizations leaders. A great beginning is to have all be aware of the importance of preventing escalation of conflict rather than stimulating it in the belief that a little is ‘healthy’.
• Implement ‘Departmental Purpose Analysis’ (as used in TQM) and/or some form of workflow studies to remove ‘Structural Constraints’ that hamper interdepartmental effectiveness. Everyone needs to see himself or herself as a customer or a supplier to every other department.
• Advocate open-mindedness and remind all that another’s sub-cultural perspective should not be seen as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ just… ‘different’. Combined with this the organization must ‘Educate for Understanding’ by defining and publicising each different department’s or ‘professional discipline’s’ cultural values
• Develop a focus on ‘potential achievements’ based on cooperation and constantly monitor for personal interests that are diametrically opposed to the company goals, as they will hamper progress toward the company vision and mission.
Before I finish…
If you need to move to a more an organization with a more enlightened culture perhaps you need to take a look at the free blank resume form!
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Finally… Kill the management… A company where managers focus on…
* ‘in-company management’ that ignores outside advice and attitudes
* is building bureaucratic hierarchical structures with precise formalised decision-making power
* and is an organization of processes and strict activity control
…is doomed to constant bickering over the rightfulness of their cultural perspective and is a likely candidate to destroy its success through its narrow perspective and even its ‘bad’ cultural practices.
PS. TO LEAD WE NEED TO: INSPIRE, COMMUNICATE, STRATEGISE, SHARE THE VISION, FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER MANAGE OUR CULTURE AND THINK OUTCOMES!
Tags: corporate culture, cross cultural communication, cultural change, cultural success, culture, culture wars, interdepartmental culture differences, managing culture, workplace culture