You should be reading the topic of this blog with a somewhat whiney tone. It’s not unlike a conversation I had with a colleague last week. We were discussing cultural change and how I might be able to assist her organisation and after we discussed the possibilities we both agreed that yes, cultural change is hard!

So often we lament our culture, or elements of it and wish for change the way we wish for New Year's resolutions.  Those that turn a NY resolution into an actual change know that you need to be Specific, to be Focused, to take the Time and be All In! 

It’s the same with cultural change. It requires you to be:

Specific - What is the culture you want? You need to be able to describe it through your senses.  What you will see, hear, feel (not taste and smell so much). And is it the whole culture that needs to change, or just parts of it?  For example, what is your meeting culture like?  Is it a little toxic (see a previous blog on this)?  Are people habitually late, non-participative and the meetings themselves are somewhat irrelevant?  By fixing the meeting culture you may fix a bunch of other things. 

Focused - Once you decide on the elements you want to change, you need a laser-like focus. It becomes a Cause, or Quest or Rallying cry!  Every internal communication in the organisation reinforces it. You become relentless.  

Time - It takes time, and it needs time dedicated to it. A couple of workshops, an all hands meeting and a bunch of emails will not cut it. A minimum of 3 (and probably 5) years of consistent effort is what it takes to truly change even just one element of a culture. In the wise words of my favourite NZ Super Model, Rachel Hunter, “It won’t happen over night but it will happen”. 

All In - The whole organisation, from the top down must be focused on the change.  For example, if we are going to change our meeting culture, then everyone becomes involved. It is a conscious effort. And it’s not just HR’s job (see another blog on this). It’s everyone’s job. 

In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg tells the story of when Paul O’Neill took over Alcoa in 1987.  The company was not in good shape and in his opening address the investors, shareholders and employees expected to hear about profit margins and revenue projections. Instead, he talked about worker safety. O’Neill decided to focus specifically on safety and long story short, turned the organisation around by changing one element of the culture and it had a tremendous knock on effect in the organisation. Duhigg would describe this as a keystone habit.  I think it’s a great example of how you can focus on one element of a culture and have a profound impact. You can read a summary of the Alcoa story here. 

If you were to pick one thing about the culture of your organisation you would like to change, what would it be?

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