Issue 8: Cultivating Culture

Welcome to your leadership newsletter! Each month, we’ll explore a different area of leadership together. I’ll share some of my own experiences, the experience and learning from others and links to some things you may enjoy.

This month, I’ve been inspired by the quote below. So let’s explore how to cultivate the culture you want throughout your team, service or organisation.

Is there such a thing as being too nice?

I suppose it depends. Does the niceness get in the way of being real? Does it stop people from disagreeing? Does it mean there’s a lack of challenge in the system? If the answer is yes, then yes, it’s a problem.

Relationships and systems need the psychological safety to be real, to disagree, to challenge and therefore, to grow. If you can’t be honest about your own thoughts, emotions and needs, then others won’t be able to meet your needs. If you can’t disagree with a colleague about how best to do something or with a boss about their decision, then how can you both ensure all perspectives are considered and nothing is being missed? If you can’t challenge the system or the ‘rules’, then how can we collectively grow, develop, find efficiencies and ultimately improve the system.

Every relationship and system needs some challenge, but also needs the psychological safety for people to feel able to do this in a way that is beneficial for the relationship or system, is delivered with clarity and kindness, but is also received with openness. Otherwise, a culture of kindness can also mean a culture of silence.

How do I change the culture? I’m just one person.

Culture lives in the hearts and habits of individuals, so it’s not as simple as saying ‘we are now an organisation that values courageous conversations and meaningful relationships’. Firstly, what does that even mean? A courageous conversation can mean something very different to different people. It’s important to remember that language holds power and meaning, so there’s value in spending time not just talking, but listening to people’s experiences when you’re trying to shift the culture of a team or organisation. Secondly, why should people change? What’s the need and value for them?

As a leader, you could lean on a framework such as Kotter’s 8 step change model. It’s a helpful guide to thinking through what you need at each step of change.

What I’ve found most helpful is to remember a few things:

1- Cultural change doesn’t happen overnight and cannot be mandated.

2- Cultural change needs a firm foundation of a clear vision and values. What do we stand for? What does that mean for people at all levels across the organisation?

3- Model what you want to see in others. If you want a culture that values honest, transparent conversations, then don’t shy away from this yourself, lean into and encourage the conversations you’re seeking. And notice and praise when you see this in others.

4- Create a movement. Start to notice people who are early adopters and feel excited about the change. Bring them with you, encourage their feedback and ideas and use them to create a ripple effect of change within their own circle of influence.

5- Listen to understand. Any change can feel scary or uncomfortable for people. It’s important that you take the time to listen in order to understand what it’s like from different people’s perspectives so that you can adapt where necessary.

How do values drive culture?

Values help provide a solid foundation to build your organisational culture on. In many ways values and culture can be synonymous. For example, let’s say one of your organisational values is growth or learning. You could use this to outline what this means for staff. For example, you might say something like this means that when a mistake is made, we get together and focus on what we can learn from that mistake; or, when a complaint is made, we talk to the person making the complaint so we can better understand what happened and how we can do better next time; or even, we invest in the development of our staff by providing £x per year to either a personal or professional area of growth.

Whereas, if your organisational value was about community or giving back, you would have a very different offer and expectation for staff. You may focus on things like encouraging all staff to take x days per year to volunteer in their local community whilst being paid by the organisation, or that £x of profit per year will be invested back in the local community.

It’s important to consider your own values as a leader and how this shapes how you lead others how you drive and define the values of the organisation.

Do you know what your organisations values are and what they mean for you?

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