Servant Leadership: Understanding the Culture

Simply put, organizational culture refers to the values, attitudes, and beliefs that a group of people share. Culture has a profound effect on an organization and adds structural stability to the group. It provides employees with a frame of reference that enables them to communicate effectively and recognize right from wrong within the organizational framework. It is the leader’s assumptions about the correct way of doing things that are communicated to the group.

When priorities change in the blink of an eye, a framework for change is critical to the health of the organization. “As codes and values ​​of behavior are deeply ingrained in the organization, they are generally a solid guide for all activities.” Understanding culture can help organizations provide a framework for change. The dominant elements that are present in an organization are the driving forces of its culture. “Culture, like an onion, consists of layers that can be peeled off. The outer layer is what people primarily associate with culture: the visual reality of behavior, clothing, food, language, etc. The middle layer refers to the norms and values ​​that an organization has: what is considered right and wrong or good and bad. The deepest or inner layer is the level of unquestionable implicit culture. This layer is the result of the organization of human beings to reconcile frequently occurring dilemmas. “

Each of these driving forces can be molded into a framework for change, provided they are understood. Leaders of the future must understand the driving forces behind the organization’s culture so they can understand how to promote understanding within the culture. Organizations, like people, respond to different motivators. When technology is the driving force, for example, the need to be ahead can be a motivator. The military often subscribes to this culture.

“It is important that leaders are not so in love with the details of the changes they are launching as to sacrifice the spirit of the outcome that the changes were intended to produce. Leaders who emotionally cling to their ‘plans’ sometimes fail to distinguish between the incidental and the fundamental and end up establishing the former at the expense of the latter. ” To maintain sustainable advantage, organizations must change as fast as their strategies. If change is required to maintain a sustainable advantage, why not design the organization to be constantly and rapidly changing? The value gained from conducting a cultural values ​​audit is that it helps stakeholders understand their strengths and potential for change. “Understanding how your organizations are the same and different from other similar organizations, how their different elements are aligned with each other, and how changes can be initiated are all important outcomes …”