HPS Leadership Best Practices Journal™

Culture

Imagine your culture functioning in a way similar to the operating system of your computer. Every piece of your business would then be running on top of that system. If there is a problem or dysfunction with the operating system, it will likely surface with every process (application) that is running on top of it.

Each year Fortune magazine publishes a much-anticipated article on The 100 Best Companies To Work For in America. The millennium edition described these best companies' "edge" in one word: culture. Not every company on the list had the same or even similar cultures. In fact, the cultures were quite different. There was, however, a common theme involving cultures where employees know they are respected and valued, cultures that demonstrate that leadership cares about the employees.

Organizations develop cultures because they are made up of and led by people. The culture of an organization reflects beliefs and purpose. When an organization neglects or fails to intentionally define and shape its culture, it will evolve a culture by default that lacks vision and purpose, a culture that does not serve the needs of the business, the employees, or the customers.

Emotional Intelligence tells us that establishing a defining purpose is critical in the lives of people and organizations. The organization must have a compelling reason for its existence. The reason must be sufficient to rally a workforce of committed employees and excite the marketplace enough to build customer interest and establish loyalty.

Leadership has been described as the single most influential ingredient in creating and sustaining effective or changing ineffective cultures. History continues to demonstrate that cultures characterized by arrogance, internal needs focus, and layers of bureaucracy undermine business performance.

John Cotter, distinguished Consume Matsushita Professor of Leadership at the Harvard Business School and author of the best-selling Corporate Culture and Performance states, "The primary function of leadership is to produce change, and if culture encourages that activity throughout the hierarchy, it will produce a great deal of risk-taking, initiative, communication, and motivation."

Cultures are comprised of people working or living together in community. Aligning leadership, strategy and culture can significantly increase the odds for business success.

Excerpts from Tom Watson's (former Chairman of IBM) 1962 speech at Columbia University, are still germane in the new millennium. "The basic philosophy, spirit, and desire of an organization have far more to do with its relative achievements than do technological or economic resources, organizational structure, innovation, and timing. All these things weigh heavily on success. But they are, I think, transcended by how strongly the people in the organization believe in it basic precepts and how faithfully they carry them out." Emotional Intelligence is critical to developing effective cultures and organizational performance.