Culture Chronicles
Navigating The Complexities of Organizational Culture and Dynamics
by Kelly Lewis, Vice President at TurnkeyZRG
The intricacies of corporate and organizational culture have been explored since the 1950s. Elliot Jaques first introduced the philosophy of workplace culture while studying the daily operations of a factory in Great Britain. In the 1951 book "The Changing Culture of the Factory," Jaques observed two critical components to culture: 1) the unspoken rules of workplace engagement, in this case, how the day-to-day operations were handled, and 2) the beliefs and attitudes of the workers, which closely aligned with the factory owners' standards. Since then, ample research and thought leadership on workplace culture has persisted.
The idea of organizational culture is seldom disputed by corporate executives or the media. Instead, it is assumed and emphasized as critical to employee productivity, happiness, and organizational connectivity. Hence, when asking business leaders about culture, you often hear buzzwords to showcase productivity and employee perception of joy and connectivity: innovation, fun, creativity, inclusion, etc. Yet, despite these well-intentioned descriptors, many give little thought to what their workplace culture genuinely encompasses. Frequently struggling to articulate its nuances beyond the surface-level buzzwords due to the inherently complex and evolving nature of cultural identity within organizations, illuminating that the very concept, meaning, and catalyst of culture rarely is given the same thought and consideration as its outcomes.
This month, Kelly's Culture will unpack the term Culture by exploring why defining culture is challenging, how people and their beliefs impact on culture, and examining the pitfall of arbitrarily defining culture in the workplace.
Defining Culture:
Sir Edward B. Tylor, founding father of cultural anthropology (1871), defined culture as "the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society." The definition has expanded to include learned behaviors and symbols, the ways in which people adapt to their environments, and the ways of life that are characteristic of a particular group. In layman's terms, culture is the values, beliefs, and practices of a group of people. Culture is essentially everything and everywhere. Despite the ambiguous nature of the word, the definitional aspect that is most useful is that culture involves people/groups/society, and that they share something. The nature of that something remains vague, offering flexibility in its understanding.
Culture tends to be described as finite, often only seeming malleable in extreme circumstances and for limited periods, leading to a problematic way of thinking about such a nuanced topic. We know culture is shaped by what people value, their beliefs, and how they act; people are constantly evolving and changing. The emphasis has been on people's actions being influenced by the group they belong to, which in turn shapes their thinking. Attention is not often given to the dynamic nature of how everyone's thinking, doing, or believing, which in turn is constantly changing the nature of the group and its shared understanding.
So, the problem with the term "culture" is that it connotatively mitigates the individualization of people, leading to the essentialization of groups. Essentialize group is a term used to describe the process of reducing diverse individuals within a particular group to a simplified, essentialized stereotype or set of characteristics. It simplistically focuses on a group of people as one, sharing generalized traits, values, ideas, practices, and beliefs. These groups do not exist. Individuals might adjust aspects of themselves to demonstrate buy-in into expressed values and "culture," especially in a corporate setting. But the fact is, that is more of an evolutional tactic of self-preservation than anything else. Some examples include adapting one's dress style, engaging in social activities that are out of one's norms, or language and dialect code-switching.
Culture is people. People are inherently complex and influenced by their upbringing, social identities, values, and experiences. As a result, the collective culture within an organization reflects the complexities of individuals by way of the perspectives and behaviors they bring to the workplace. Hence, organizations that struggle to define their culture lack a deep understanding of their people.
People's Impact on Culture:
People are the architects and embodiment of workplace culture. As companies recognize the diversity of perspectives and contributions of their employees, they can gain a deeper insight into the multifaceted disposition of their culture. This understanding should go beyond the surface level and not be stereotype or buzzword-centered. We want to get to the heart of our beliefs and values in the workplace. Is this a place of accountability? Or learning? Or coaching? To do this, we must understand a person in the work context. What behaviors do they most prefer and are motivated by in the context of work? This will showcase what beliefs and behaviors they are most accretive towards in the workplace. Ultimately, it illustrates the ways a person contributes to the characterization of a company culture.
For example, employees prioritizing collaboration and openness may foster a culture of inclusivity and cooperation, while those prioritizing achievement may contribute to a more competitive or results-driven culture. Similarly, employees who demonstrate agility and resilience in the face of challenges can help cultivate a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. When each person's workplace behavior is assessed and analyzed collectively, we can understand what truly defines a company culture. This results in the creation of a culture roadmap. Allowing executives to create policies, processes, and procedures allows those ideal anchoring behaviors to thrive.
However, this phenomenon manifests most impactfully through a rigorous assessment of individuals' natural disposition in the workplace. It's imperative to do the work, as the pitfalls of generalization loom, potentially causing unintended adverse outcomes.
Pitfalls of Generalizations
Oversimplifying, misrepresenting, and generalizing a culture through the use of buzzwords or aspirational hopes can significantly distort the true essence of an organization's culture. Buzzwords like "dynamic," "innovative," or "family" may sound appealing but have often been known to fall short of genuinely reflecting life in the office or organization more broadly. Let’s look deeply into the word innovation and Microsoft and 3M as a case Study.
Cultures that are truly innovative have clear telltale signs. These cultures encourage creativity and experimentation, have an emphasis on profession development/continuous education, and foster cross collaboration. Both 3M and Microsoft possess mechanisms that support their belief of being an innovative place to work. For example, for over 70 years, 3M’s unique culture has encouraged employees to set aside 15% of their work time to proactively cultivate and pursue innovative ideas that excite them. Microsoft's "Garage" program allows employees to work on passion projects and experimental ideas outside of their regular roles, fostering a culture of innovation and exploration.
Similarly, Apples’ “Apple University” offers a range of courses and training programs designed to develop employees' creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. These illustrations from 3M, Microsoft, and Apple underscore the tangible manifestations of innovative cultures, where creativity, professional growth, and collaborative spirit intertwine to cultivate environments ripe for innovation to flourish.
The prevalence of feel-good rhetoric around culture, unsupported by tangible policies, actions, and concrete examples, poses a significant risk of cultivating a superficial perception of employee experiences within an organization. This impacts an organization's brand internally and externally due to disillusionment among employees regarding declared values not being practiced or lived by in the workplace. Yielding other outcomes like loss of trust, difficulty attracting talent, performance, and more.
In-depth Talent Advisory
By delving into employees' unique characteristics and motivations in the workplace, companies can uncover the underlying dynamics that shape their culture, providing valuable insights for organizational development and strategic planning. To facilitate this process with a more data-centered approach, TurnkeyZRG is rolling out a talent advisory service specifically centered on cultural contribution in and beyond the executive search process.
Anchored in our guiding core values of inclusion, ambition, purpose, and integrity, TurnkeyZRG is committed to elevating our commitment to helping organizations attract, retain, and develop top talent. Collectively under the umbrella of ZRG Partners is Walking The Talk, the global leader in culture consultancy. Based on Walking the Talk's more than 30 years of experience in culture consulting, Walking The Talk has developed the Taylor Assessment, a proprietary assessment that, for the first time, can accurately assess and demonstrate organizational culture and the contributing behaviors that drive the culture’s continual evolution. The Taylor Assessment is a framework that incorporates 6 cultural archetypes and 30 anchoring behaviors (5 behaviors per archetype) that have been synthesized over thousands of culture consulting efforts globally. Each archetype is no better or worse than the other; each represents a distinct set of behavior patterns that can characterize a company culture and a person's natural behavioral tendencies in the workplace.
The Taylor Assessment is not a compatibility test. Instead, it is a data-driven resource that connects a person's innate behavior in the workplace to what we've heard client companies say they most value and/or most want to see in their company cultures. Developed in partnership with PsyNet, a leading psychometric test developer, the assessment is robustly constructed for strong validity and reliability. It focuses entirely on cultural contribution rather than cultural fit.
Culture Fit
Definition: the degree to which a person's values and behavioral preferences align with the company's
Past-oriented
Looks only at current profile
Increases bias to hire people who are 'like me'
Focuses on status quo rather than enhancement
Reduces diversity and, thus, performance
Culture Contribution
Definition: ways that an individual can enhance the company culture or move it forward
Future-oriented
Looks at target profiles, but also beyond it
Reduces bias to hire people who are 'like me'
Focuses on enhancement rather than status quo
Increases diversity and, thus, performance
We believe this revolutionary assessment tool can help us, for the first time, accurately define individual organizational culture and identify the ways in which individuals can contribute to the culture an organization wants to build. We’re thrilled to bring this incredible tool to sports and entertainment in a way that can meaningfully help build outstanding organizations that value the uniqueness of the individual while aligning them to the environments where they can be most impactful.
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ABOUT TURNKEYZRG
Founded in 1996, TurnkeyZRG is a highly specialized talent recruitment/executive search firm filling C-level, senior-level and mid-management level positions throughout sports, entertainment and media. Over the past 25 years, TurnkeyZRG has filled more than 1,400 positions throughout sports, entertainment and media. TurnkeyZRG helps teams, leagues, stadiums, arenas, theaters, college athletic departments, events, sponsors, agencies, media companies, private equity companies and other clients identify, recruit and hire the very best management talent. Turnkey now benefits from ZRG’s global footprint, full array of industry practice groups, data-driven, analytical search tools, and technology investment in changing the way executive search/talent recruiting is done. TurnkeyZRG becomes a tech-enabled disrupter of the prior executive search model.