Cultural Transformation Is Everyone's Business
Great leaders can transform any organization’s culture. They define standards, create expectations, and model the right behaviors. But that doesn’t mean they are the only people responsible for it.
Most people believe that leaders own a company’s culture, not only in the sense of accountability but also in deciding what culture the company should have. This strict approach to cultural transformation doesn’t work. Everyone who is part of an organization contributes to the culture of the company.
It takes a whole organization to create a positive company culture. Cultural transformation is a shared responsibility between leaders and employees. This article explores what makes cultural change successful, what everyone can do to contribute, and what you can do in times of resistance.
Team Commitment Makes Cultural Transformation Successful
You’ve seen how changing cultures help an organization flourish. For example, Hubspot chooses to view its company culture as a product. That means they’re continuously working to improve their culture to better serve their employees. And it did wonders for their employees’ performance.
But this commitment to constantly improve its culture doesn’t just come from the top management. You can’t drive change by imposing the beliefs of a few leaders. Everyone takes part in making this transformation possible. After all, culture is defined by the behaviors of everyone in a community.
Effective cultural change requires the involvement and commitment of everyone in the organization. Only when employees are actively involved in developing their cultures will cultural change be long-lasting.
To do this, your employees should know about your change initiatives. Communicate the details to every person in the company as they relate to them.
For instance, a positive workplace culture emphasizes inclusivity and diversity. It doesn’t mean anything to tell line employees to “make sure you practice diversity and inclusivity.” You need to be very specific to emphasize collaboration and teamwork. So instead, you can say, “Let the planner and quality control team know after you complete the task.”
It’s also important to equip your employees with the right mindset for change. This will help them embrace your company's cultural transformation initiatives more easily.
Coaches and change management consultants can train them to be more open to changes. The training will also help them work towards a common goal shared by your company. Not only that, but they can make your executive team better leaders.
Defining Roles: 5 D’s in Cultural Transformation
Everyone should contribute to the transformation of your company’s culture. But for their efforts to have a significant effect, they need to know their roles in the process.
There are five steps in transforming your culture, and each step is done by different people in the organization. We’ll also provide real-world examples for each step so you can understand it better.
1. Design
The first step is to decide what kind of culture your company should have. It is also the step that defines how different components will function. It begins by mapping the present culture and identifying gaps between various groups within the organization.
Who is responsible: a collaborative effort between senior leaders and employees
Example: Originally, Airbnb had six core values. The employees felt that there were too many values, and some of them didn’t even make sense. The leaders in the company consider this feedback and involve the employees in creating their core values.
They provided insights about what boosted or deflated the company’s culture. These insights were, then, put to use to change certain values, add new ones, and remove others.
2. Define
This step lets you determine what the future of your company’s culture will look like. It’s about officializing it and making sure everyone knows about it.
Who is responsible: The executive team, particularly the CEO.
Example: Jeff Bezos defined speed as Amazon’s competitive edge. This means he wants the company to be the first to enter the market. That’s why he urged his senior team to maintain a high decision-making pace.
Their general guideline includes having the team make choices with around 70% of the information they wish it had. That means they don’t need to gather all the data they need to make decisions. He believed that Amazon would slow down if they waited for more.
3. Demonstrate
Cultural change doesn’t stop at designing and defining the culture you want for the company. Leaders should also demonstrate what their employees need to do to change the culture. They should make sure that their words and actions are consistent.
Who is responsible: leaders and managers
Example: Patagonia decided to establish a culture of continuous, ongoing feedback. When they do this, they tell the executives that their team should do it. This showed their employees that their leaders care about their learning and development. In return, it motivated their teams to follow suit.
4. Demand
Modeling the right behaviors is not enough to transform culture into something tangible. For people to grasp what is and isn’t okay, you should make your expectations clear.
Who is responsible: leaders and managers
Example: Hubspot doesn’t accept using shortcuts to get quick outcomes. They punish employees for doing so. Meanwhile, they also praise those who add value to the company, maintain work-life balance, and deliver outcomes.
5. Display
Ultimately, your company culture is a product of how everyone behaves. What is printed on a document doesn’t matter as much as how your employees present your culture.
Employee obligations extend beyond just adhering to the standards and culture you put in place. They should also lead by example and not give their coworkers a pass. In short, team members should hold one another responsible.
Who is responsible: employees
Example: New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, often give each other feedback. Every player observes their recorded matches on their own. When something goes wrong, they list their insights about how they can play better as a team. They, then, discuss these insights together to improve their gameplay as a team.
What To Do If Employees Resist Change?
Changing culture is hard, and sometimes it fails on your first try. You’re likely to encounter resistance when you try to do it again.
Resisting change is natural for employees. They’ve become so comfortable with the old culture that they think changing anything will disrupt their peace. After all, it’s hard to explore the unknown if they can just stay with what they’re familiar with.
You have control over how much resistance there is as a leader by how you think, what you say, and what you do. Here are some things you can do to lower change resistance:
1. Take Responsibility For The Change
You should own the change, regardless of how you feel about it or where it came from. It’s up to you to put the change into action. Take a step back, take deep breaths, and plan how you will put the change into place. That’s when you can accomplish it effectively.
2. Promote a Positive Workplace Environment
Employees are far more likely to embrace the change if they see you as honest, loyal, and trustworthy. Your efforts in creating this kind of relationship will benefit you throughout the process.
3. Be Transparent About What’s Changing
Any change initiative will result in employee changes that you may not expect. Encourage them to discuss the change so they know what they will get from it, both personally and professionally.
4. Explain Why The Company Needs a Change
They may know what’s changing, but do they know why your company needs to change? Remember that purpose is what motivates people to act. It is one of the reasons why employees resist change in an organization. For whatever reason it is, you should explain to them the reason for the change.
5. Listen to What They Feel About The Change
It’s wrong to think that your employees share the same emotions and ideas about the change. Your employees come from different backgrounds and experience different situations. The change can affect each of them differently, and you should not think less about how it affects them.
Listen to what they have to say and empathize with them. You’ll be able to minimize change resistance with an empathic approach to it.
6. Work With Change Management Companies
All these may seem easy to do, but not all things work perfectly. Fortunately, some companies are available to help. These experts will help you minimize resistance to change or prevent it altogether. They can train your employees to prepare for change when the time comes.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when things take a wrong turn.
You Lead The Way, Everyone Will Follow Through
Building a positive and efficient culture requires teamwork. Your change initiatives won’t take effect unless everyone in the organization is aware of them and contributes to them.
Listen and gather insights from everyone. Communicate their roles and understand how the change affects them. And while cultural change is a shared responsibility, leaders should be the first to enact it. Be a role model and set clear expectations for how you want the change to proceed.