Culture of change (Image: PR Handout)

Biswaroop Mukherjee

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” Peter Drucker, revered management guru, said in 2006. The implication behind these words still holds. In the world of business, culture manifests in core values, behaviours, beliefs and assumptions that prevail in matters of importance.
A 1992 study by John Kotter and James Heskett found that the best performers over time are organisations that have nurtured a strong and adaptable cultural mindset. Even three decades later, a strong culture continues to hold the key to organisational performance. A PwC culture survey revealed that a majority of senior executives (approximately 70%) believe that culture is at the heart of their change initiatives.
From an employee standpoint, those who expressed optimism about their workplace culture were nearly four times more likely to feel engaged at work than others who believed otherwise, according to research.
Culture is intrinsic to every organisation, irrespective of whether it is specially curated or not. An organisation’s philosophical bent, beliefs and goals have a huge impact on how the culture shapes its performance.  At our organisation, we have drawn inspiration from the Large Scale Interactive Process (LSIP)  methodology to shape our culture connect programme. LSIP approaches cultural transformation and activation based on the Model of Change proposed by Dannemiller Tyson Associates.
The model takes into account, dissatisfaction (D) with the organisation’s present situation, which necessitates change in the first place, the vision (V) or a positive picture of future possibilities, the first steps of change (F) that can be taken towards this vision and the natural resistance (R) to change.

The LSIP framework helped us drive change associated with these pillars and enabled employees and leaders across the organisation. As part of this, 25 workshops were conducted resulting in 120 projects that have brought about notable cultural transformation including role modelling behaviour. We were able to bring together all employees who hold a stake in the change journey, thus allowing us to move effectively.
For large enterprises, overcoming the resistance to cultural transformation and ensuring that every member of their vast workforce is guided by the same cultural North Star can be a massive undertaking.
In our experience, the success of such transformational journeys relies heavily on business managers and leaders picking up the mantle and driving the culture credo deep into the organisational setup. This was corroborated by a PwC survey that showed the tone of the leadership as the premier cultural enabler.
In the words of Edgar Schein who introduced a holistic outlook toward organisational change, “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture.” Leadership is paramount in navigating and enabling the evolutionary change that will become necessary for the organisation to be future-ready.

Read Original Article: Click Here