{"id":7973,"date":"2020-01-30T09:36:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T09:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/uncategorized\/what-is-organisational-culture-and-why-should-senior-leaders-care\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T18:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T17:15:10","slug":"what-is-organisational-culture-and-why-should-senior-leaders-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/uk-en\/cultural-change\/what-is-organisational-culture-and-why-should-senior-leaders-care\/","title":{"rendered":"What is organisational culture – and why should senior leaders care?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is organisational culture \u2013 and why should you care?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Organisational culture can be an easy thing to ignore. Often because it is difficult to notice in the first place. We are so immersed in it. In Culture Map<\/em>, Erin Meyer explains it through a much-told story of two young fish who meet an older fish.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe nods at them and says, \u2018Morning boys, how\u2019s the water?\u201d \u2013 which prompts one of the young fish to ask the other, \u2018What the hell is water?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As leaders, we can similarly lack perception when it comes to our corporate culture. Because we can\u2019t see it, we don\u2019t think about it much, we don\u2019t prioritise it and we don\u2019t measure its impact.<\/p>\n

But just as certain species of fish can only live in saltwater, or freshwater, certain kinds of success can only grow in businesses that have taken the time to analyse the quality of what surrounds them.<\/p>\n

Defining corporate culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCultural patterns of behaviour and belief frequently impact our perceptions (what we see), cognitions (what we think), and actions (what we do).\u201d \u2013 Erin Meyer, Culture Map<\/em><\/p>\n

Before we can begin to address the impact of culture, we need to differentiate between what it is and what we sometimes believe it is.<\/p>\n

We often imagine that our company\u2019s list of values is our company\u2019s culture. But there can be a vast divide between our conscious values and our reality.<\/p>\n

Professor Geert Hofstede conducted one of the first and most comprehensive studies of how culture affects the workplace. He defined culture as \u201cthe collective programming of the mind,\u201d which distinguishes \u201cthe members of one group or category of people from others.\u201d It is a subconscious set of values, a collective way of thinking, that directly affects how we act. It affects how our organisations teams respond in times of crisis, how we instigate executive strategies and how we interact with one another.<\/p>\n

Or as Marc Randolph, the co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, says, \u201cCulture isn\u2019t what you say, it\u2019s what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mazars\u2019 Board Leadership in Corporate Culture survey revealed that only 5% of company board members are able to say they are \u201cvery confident\u201d that there is \u201cclear alignment\u201d\u2019 between their desired and actual culture. It is a gap that we need to address, if we want to succeed as leaders.<\/p>\n

Organisational culture enables business success<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line was that while everyone was rowing the boat\u2026 there was no forward movement.\u201d \u2015 Ed Catmull,<\/em> Creativity, Inc.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The impact of culture on the success of a business is pervasive. Often we imagine that strategy \u2013 our business idea and our business plan \u2013 is what ensures success. But it is our company\u2019s culture that affects our team\u2019s capacity to rally around that idea and to fulfil that plan.<\/p>\n

In Creativity Inc<\/em>. Ed Catmull, a co-founder of Pixar, writes \u201cThere is nothing like a crisis, though, to bring what ails a company to the surface.\u201d And it is then that our true culture, not just the one we hoped we had, is revealed.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, unexpected obstacles will hinder our progress, unforeseen problems will limit our initial vision, and sometimes, a business initiative will simply fail. Our culture affects our ability to recover, to adapt to the unexpected, to learn from our experiences. It is our culture that determines whether we will be sunk by hard times, or rise above forecasted results.<\/p>\n

Culture attracts talent<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026it\u2019s often something intangible \u2013 like a diverse, inclusive, values-driven culture \u2013 that determines where the best and brightest talent decide to work.\u201d- Marc Benioff and Monica Langley, Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change<\/em><\/p>\n

When it comes to attracting the most talented individuals, the cultural fit is the most important factor. Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg emphasise this in How Google Works<\/em>, \u201cMany people, when considering a job, are primarily concerned with their role and responsibilities, the company\u2019s track record, the industry, and compensation. Smart creatives, though, place culture at the top of the list. To be effective, they need to care <\/em>about the place they work..\u201d<\/p>\n

Culture determines who stays and who leaves. Those that feel at home in a company\u2019s culture will gladly remain while those that strain against it will either tire and leave, or compromise to tow the company line, for a while. But the best leaders, the smartest creatives, will never be content to stay in an organisation that is at odds with their ideas, their work ethic, their ideals. They\u2019re not interested in career progression as much as career purpose.<\/p>\n

Implications for the next decade<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLeading with culture may be among the few sources of sustainable competitive advantage left to companies today. \u2013 Boris Groysberg, Jeremiah Lee, Jesse Price, J. Yo-Jud Cheng, HBR, The Leader\u2019s Guide to Corporate Culture<\/em><\/p>\n

Corporate culture no longer only has implications for the long term. The landscape is changing. Some large money funds are now restricted \u2013 they can only invest in companies that meet certain criteria in regard to gender balance, or approaches to their workforce. How much a business can be socially responsible is partly defined by the type of industry, but company culture plays an even more significant role.<\/p>\n

As the next decade unfolds, the impact on businesses will only be greater. Company culture will affect PR and subsequent popularity among customers. It will affect investment. It will affect the quality of new hires and the retention of high performing employees. It will affect our ability to navigate an increasingly unpredictable world. Margaret Heffernan explained at the 2019 TED Summit, \u201cthe unexpected is becoming the norm. It\u2019s why experts and forecasters are reluctant to predict anything more than 400 days out.\u201d<\/p>\n

We need to diagnose our corporate culture, and begin shaping it with intention, so that we can fulfil our company vision. But to understand our own culture, we often need outside perspective. Check out our leadership consultancy services to begin exploring how to align your company culture with your company vision. The steps we take will determine the level of success we experience in an uncertain decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is organisational culture – and why should you care? Organisational culture can be an easy thing to ignore. Often because it is difficult to notice in the first place. …<\/p>\n

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