Culture change – it’s all in the “C’s”

You know what? I am seeing too many managers / leaders blaming employees for being problematic. If the majority of employees are not on board, have you ever thought that effective leadership is lacking and it could be a reflection of you? Maybe the foundation is not strong enough, there isn't enough conversation regarding positive culture, there is a lack of strategy, systems, people development and / or perspective?

Ok sure, culture change in large organisations is harder, much harder; but not impossible. I have been managing and owning businesses for many years and when I have been in a challenging place (mentally), my staff have been less productive.

I have been at the heart of 'culture and engagement' change this year. In order to make changes I align closely to strategy, leadership, brand, wellbeing and systems development. It is very difficult to work on culture if these pillars aren't aligned.

In small businesses, transformation comes quicker and it is much easier for people to build a stronger base , create a sense of belonging and work more collaboratively . This can only happen if the leader has the ability to step up and have enough self-awareness to see it for what it is.

In a larger organisation I use Simon Sinek's adaptation to the 'Diffusion of Innovation' model. This model is utilised by developing and nurturing a likeminded, self-aware group to upskill and create change. This 'group' can be labelled anything but the focus is on 'culture and engagement'. Once the group is formed, leaders are appointed and subcommittees are developed. These could include

• diversity and inclusion

• inhouse initiatives

• community initiatives

• wellbeing

• revive sessions and

• marketing and communications
  
  

With this infrastructure in place staff are empowered to build and maintain their own bespoke programme.

Culture does not change over night. Focus on the following "C's" to create change:

1. Commitment - Right from the start, the leadership team has to commit. They need to believe in the process and the vision. Telling people what culture is never works. Staff have to be motivated to change and have a desire to engage ... This links to another C..

2. Champion the Change- see the Diffusion of Innovation model pictured. Around 12 - 15% of employees lead this (this is your culture and engagement group) and it doesn't have to be all senior management. Although, senior management have to want the change and also work for it. Who from your employees cares enough to make change? Who has a natural energy to go slightly outside of their job description for the good of the business? With enough people talking and walking the walk, you will move the 'Early majority' over and close the chasm.

3. Consistency - do not stop! This is a long game especially in large organisations over 80. Behaviour change isn't rocket science but you cannot integrate one change and walk away. To build trust and to be heard, do not stop. Do not think by just integrating a wellbeing calendar telling people to exercise more works. Box ticking is better than nothing but to change habits of your employees takes a lot more than this. You also can't just focus on the toxic emplooyees either and think things will change. Think about how hard it is to change the language of the staff for example. This one aspect of changing our language has to be consistent. For example, if everyone is saying in the staff room "I can't believe I have to work today" or "I have already worked 60 hours this week", this all adds to a negative culture. Put small changes in place, make people accountable and be consistent. Don't just fight the small fires for a start and be reactive. We work on making changes from the ground up, this is what being proactive is about.

4. Capability - we have a responsibility to raise individuals to be the best that they can be. If there is a majority not doing their job to the best of their ability, something is wrong. How do we build capability within people to give them confidence to do their job? I truly believe that majority is capable to do something if they are passionate, have the confidence, have a desire about what they are doing and understand exactly what is expected of them. IQ is one thing but how do we get to a stage of enhancing EI to bring the best out of the employees. There needs to be more training workplace wide around self awareness, basics of neuroscience, communication, dealing with conflict and integrating a 'culture canvas'.

5. Compassion - PEOPLE, staff are struggling everywhere! You probably also have your struggles. Drop the heroism game, get vulnerable and have some perspective. Don't play victim though. To get trust, engage. Staff won't work harder until they respect. Do you reallllly care about their wellbeing? Do you walk around and say 'hi'. Everyone needs a sense of belonging. If you aren't compassionate with their needs and provide them with a chance to rewire parts of their programming, nothing will change. It is having the ability to move from sympathy to empathy to compassion.

6. Curiosity - Where has the ability to get curious gone? Why do we not challenge the status quo? Phycological safety has to be developed in order for people to feel safe enough to speak up. If people feel safe and valued, magic can happen. Curiosity allows us to stop, observe, reflect, gain perspective and get better at active listening. if you have an average culture (or even an incredible one), start getting curious about yourself, your staff, what is working, what can you do differently? One of my favourite sayings for everyone to ingrain is "are you contributing or contaminating".

7. Connection - This is one of my favourite words. If you as a leader are pushing against your team (or just generally moaning about your staff outputs), where is that going to get you? With a dedicaged 'culture and engagement' group, we ensure we have a connected team to move ahead. The more people that are on board and feel connected, the easier it is to start connecting other people to our approach of how we want to move forward.

8. Creating a centre of 'cool'- Six ish years ago, someone asked me at the café that I owned 'how did you create such an incredible culture?'. My husband and I had a chat. He said to me, it's a 'Centre of cool'. This sounds a bit cheesy but think about it. Everyone wants to feel like they are part of something. What are you creating in your workplace that is 'cool' for people to feel a part of? This is around teamwork, relating to staff on their level (speaking less about ourselves), integrating laughter as a way to connect (we are all getting way too boring people) and being able to motivate (extrinsic but more importantly intrinsic). Once you get the majority of the workplace to believe they are part of something, then they are setting the standards for how culture should be. The late majority will feel left out and have no choice but to leave or get on the same boat and paddle in the same direction.

9. Courage: step up to stand out. Be brave enough to get uncomfortable to get better. Get vulnerable (yes this word is overused but there are still way too many armours up) and have the ability to keep learning. As Brene Brown says "we can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we cannot have both".

As an end note, I have purposely only put 9 focus areas here to really rebel against myself. You know it would normally be 10. Sometimes it is ok to push the boundaries right? Culture is not always clear, we have to put a foundation in place but sometimes we have to go outside of the norm to get the results we need. Human behaviour is not text book. We are learning all the time and we have to be able to unlearn to relearn. Now, go and do your thing, lean into your strengths, learn more about culture and be honest with where things are at.