Indicators of Company Culture: And Uncovering the Truth
It can be incredibly challenging to obtain a full picture of an organization's culture from inside the organization. Executive leadership may think it is defined one way while frontline employees may see it another way. This happens because there are two types of culture, espoused and enacted. Espoused culture consists of the vision, the mission statement, the formal priorities and expectations developed by the executive level management team. This type typically is aligned with executive leadership's perspective of how an organization's culture is defined. Enacted culture consists of what is often considered "true culture" and includes practices, behaviors, environment, and traditions. This type is often aligned with frontline employees' definition of an organization's culture. By understanding these two aspects, we can begin to define workplace culture in its entirety. If we just look at the espoused culture or just the enacted culture, we would miss critical elements that impact the organization.
"Changing" Culture
If we want to be able enact change, we have to fully understand elements that are within our reach that we can utilize. When looking at culture, we must first diagnose and then develop. We cannot simply change a culture.
To Diagnose
In order to change an organization’s culture, we have to first fully understand it.
Diagnose Espoused Culture:
Consider the mission statement, what does its message mean to employees?
What does the founder’s legacy say about the company? What aspects of the legacy are still important to the organization today?
Consider the company values: What do they mean to the organization? What do they mean to shareholders? What do they mean to employees? What do they mean to customers?
Diagnose Enacted Culture:
What do employees think about the culture? (Their opinions are critical to understanding the “true” culture of an organization.)
What behaviors are accepted? What are the norms?
What does the work environment look like?
What does the work language say about the company?
Answers to these questions can help us map the espoused and enacted culture of an organization and THEN make meaningful changes.
To Develop
Now the real work begins.
Reach out to one of our consultants to help you diagnose your company culture in depth, because these questions are just the tip of the iceberg.