Corporate Culture: Visibility and Invisibility
Returning from a two-week journey teaching Leadership and Change Management in Eastern Canada, I'm back to the keyboard, invigorated. My time on the East Coast powerfully reinforced my perspectives on culture, and this week I'm diving deeper into the intriguing interplay of invisible and visible culture, specifically within organizations.
Organizational culture is often perceived as a top-down initiative, with senior executives crafting mission statements, visions, and values. These declarations aim to delineate the collective values, beliefs, and practices that govern interactions within the organization, forming the visible layer of its culture. In an ideal scenario, these value statements would steer employee conduct and social norms, fostering organizational symbols and rituals that uphold these values. Furthermore, organizational stories and narratives would emerge, chronicling past events and solidifying the present and future identity. Managers would embody and champion these values, holding individuals accountable for related behaviors. Such a culture would invariably lead to heightened engagement, improved performance and productivity, increased retention, enhanced customer experience, and boosted innovation. This approach to cultivating a visible culture is precisely what every employee desires in their workplace. So, why isn't it more prevalent?
Sadly, the ideal visible culture is a rare beast. Most organizations regularly overhaul their values, sinking immense time and resources into consulting, writing, iterating, and communicating them. They launch with a fanfare, only to land with a resounding thud. These supposedly visible cultural components immediately vanish. Values and their associated behaviors are never supported, reinforced, or incentivized. Rituals and symbols, if they appear at all, feel hollow. Stories clash with reality, further blurring the line between visible and invisible.
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast," the President of a former workplace would often declare. While I grasped the sentiment, it also left me puzzled. My internal retort (sometimes voiced to colleagues) was always that culture only triumphs over strategy if leaders actively cultivate that culture. What I mean is this: an organization's cultural impact is directly tied to the leadership skills demonstrated at every level. When everyone contributes to the leadership capacity, and that effort is focused on co-creating values essential for operational success, then a truly vibrant and effective culture can emerge.
In any large group, a visible culture inevitably emerges over time. The crucial factor determining whether this culture is positive or negative lies in how leadership skills are applied. A group's leadership ability and focus are the true architects of its culture. When collective skills are weak or unfocused, a negative visible culture is the unfortunate result. Conversely, strong and focused collective skills foster a positive visible culture. However, if collective skills are strong but unfocused, the resulting culture's positivity or negativity becomes a roll of the dice.
Many organizations suffer from an invisible culture, often due to a lack of broad leadership and a scattered approach to cultural development. The true culture hides within small groups and teams, leading to a multitude of divergent subcultures that shift as people come and go. These cultural hubs often revolve around one or two key individuals or activities that resonate deeply with team members.
The themes of these subcultures are directly influenced by how connected the team is to other teams. Marginalized teams performing activities on the periphery of the organization tend to develop more non-conformist and highly invisible cultures. Conversely, core teams performing essential activities and well-connected to others foster more conformist and more visible cultures.
It's crucial to note that both types invisible small cultures can be either positive or negative. In marginalized teams, the person with the strongest leadership skills dictates the culture, setting norms, rituals, and stories. These cultural artifacts often spread to other team members, even if they don't fully support or agree with them.
However, in small, connected, and core teams, culture is shaped by several individuals demonstrating strong leadership across the interconnected groups. This means a small team's culture can be created and reinforced by the leadership of individuals (or groups) on a connected team.
A small team's culture is a living, breathing entity, constantly shifting and evolving with the work, the people, and the larger corporate environment. Strong leadership can profoundly influence these groups. When leadership aligns with the organization's mission, vision, and values, the visible corporate culture thrives and accelerates. However, if these skills work against the organization's goals, an invisible culture takes root, subtly overriding the desired visible one.
When this unseen force gathers enough strength, it can dramatically overturn the existing corporate culture, making the old ways disappear from daily operations. This kind of cultural revolution can be devastating for an organization, often demanding extreme efforts to get back on track. What's worse, leaders often miss this crucial shift until it's beyond saving, whether because they choose to ignore it or because they're out of touch with their smaller teams.
So, how do you make that ideal corporate culture truly stick? It all starts with defining the values your organization should champion. These aren't just buzzwords; they need to be the bedrock of desired behaviors that propel success, directly link to your core mission, and be crystal clear to everyone.
If you're a decision-maker, ditch the generic values like "integrity," "teamwork," and "belonging." While undeniably important, these are table stakes, not catalysts for core activity-driven behavior. They should be a given in any organization. Build values that drive core business and mutual success.
But what if you're not a decision-maker? You still have a powerful role to play! Find ways to embody your organization's values in your daily work, even if those values feel generic. Collaborate with your team to establish your own behavioral norms that foster mutual success. This means taking specific, intentional, and purposeful action that aligns with those values, making them come alive through demonstration.
Want to transform invisible culture into a positive force? For small teams, a little leadership goes a long way. Consistent application of positive behaviors can create a ripple effect. Imagine daily check-ins on team well-being. This simple act cultivates empathy, kindness, and gratitude, strengthening relational bonds and boosting influence. The result? Improved support, reciprocity, collaboration, and innovation.
For decision-makers, step out of your office and connect with your frontline team. Go beyond a quick "hello." Ask impactful questions: "How can I make your work better?" or "What makes your work unnecessarily hard?" Act on their responses swiftly—within 24-48 hours—to shift things in a more positive direction. Your actions will speak volumes, far louder than any words. Then, rinse and repeat. Decision-makers can also unearth the hidden positive aspects of your organization's invisible culture and amplify them from the top, making those behaviors visible throughout the entire organization.
A wise staff member once shared a profound secret with me: the key to unlocking an organization's invisible culture. She was trying to quit smoking, and I'd often see her outside, not smoking, but deep in conversation with the smokers. One day, I asked if she'd resumed the habit. "No," she replied with a twinkle in her eye, "I'm learning what's really happening in the residence." She had, it turned out, infiltrated a sanctuary of unwritten rules and unspoken truths, using this invaluable intelligence to excel at her job and create a better environment for her students.
My recent journey to the East Coast brought into sharp focus the concept of visible culture. Time and again, I heard visitors remark on the genuine kindness of the locals. This sparked a thought: Was this "niceness" a manifestation of invisible or visible culture, and were these behaviors fundamental to the success of coastal life?
I believe being "nice" is a quintessential visible cultural behavior for communities on the East coast. When a community's livelihood hinges primarily on demanding and perilous work—like mining, fishing, or forestry—survival itself depends on the ability to connect with others. Cooperation is paramount, and niceness is the cornerstone of cooperation.
Canada's East Coast isn't just stunning due to its landscapes; its cultural artifacts—language, music, art, and food—are all intrinsically linked to connection and cooperation among small groups striving to survive. Our contemporary professional world could certainly glean valuable lessons from these close-knit rural communities about the profound importance of simply being nice to one another.
