In our previous discussion, we pointed out that while knowing the current vs. desired future state is critical to the organization’s success, it’s insufficient in ringing in change and a new, desired performance based culture.
So what are the missing links? They are the organizational capabilities that represent the core indicators between the current and future state, specifically:
• People – the collective representation of the organization’s skills, knowledge, behaviors, roles and responsibilities, and accountabilities.
• Environment – the company’s leadership, physical surroundings, and organizational structure.
• Work Processes – this is by whom, with whom, with what, and how work is organized and performed.
• Information and knowledge – the information the organization requires, how it is captured, transformed, used, and by whom.
• Measurement systems – This is tracking, metrics, financial reporting, and feedback.
Each of the organizational capabilities must then be aligned with the building blocks that underlay culture. The cultural building blocks are:
• Values – an organization’s values have a major impact on its culture. Examples of values that are seen in company cultures are trust, honesty, and respect.
• Norms – these are the unwritten rules in a company about how things really work. Norms indicate acceptable or unacceptable behavior.
• Stories – an organization communicates and passes on its culture through the stories it tells. These stories convey what really matters and what touches people’s hearts.
We’ll wrap up our discussion with the development of culture-based metrics that reinforce the building of required organizational capabilities.
