Todays post concludes a two-part series entitled, “Making Sense of Organizational Culture.” The first post introduced the two dimensions that exist in thriving organization cultures: strength and health. Strong cultures create alignment to the mission, values, strategy and structure throughout the entire organization. In strong cultures everyone buys-in to the mission, values, strategy and structure.
Today we are looking at the idea of healthy organizational cultures. Organizational health is determined by the quality of relationships within the organization. Healthy relationships are characterized by mutual respect, service, trust, honesty, good will, encouragement, and effective communication.
Unhealthy relationships are characterized by the opposite: disrespect, selfishness, mistrust, dishonesty, ill will, discouragement, and ineffective communication. Quality relationships don’t just happen – they are intentionally formed over time, especially by leaders committed to doing so.
There are five areas of focus that will enhance the quality of relationships in the organization.
First: Begin with Human Dignity
The foundation for becoming a healthy organization is committing to uphold the profound dignity, worth, and potential of every individual in the organization. There is no chance for a healthy culture to take root when individuals are considered cogs in the wheel or replaceable parts in a machine. Every human being within the organization, regardless of title or function, must be considered worthy of appreciation as a unique and gifted child of God.
A healthy culture will never take root when individuals are seen as cogs in the wheel or replaceable parts in a machine. Share on XThis anthropological paradigm is the foundation on which all relationships are built. When the dignity of individuals is not upheld, when their worth is not appreciated and their potential goes unnoticed, there is little chance that the organization can ever become relationally healthy. But when the organization upholds the dignity, worth, and potential of every individual person, a healthy culture has already begun.
Second: Foster Interpersonal Trust
Stephen M.R. Covey (Speed of Trust, 2006) reminds us that there is one thing important to every relationship – every marriage, every family, every bond of friendship and every corporation. This one thing, if removed, would destroy even the best marriage, the deepest friendship, the strongest bond and the strongest culture. That one thing is trust. Trust is the one thing that changes everything.
Simply put, trust means confidence. The opposite of trust – distrust – means suspicion. Trust is to relationships what the foundation is to your home. Your home cannot outgrow the foundation on which it is built. Your relationships can only grow as strong as the foundation of trust on which they are built.
Workplace relationships can only grow as strong as the foundation of trust on which they are built. Share on XTrust is most clearly present and most noticeably absent in the realm of communication. When trust is low, communication is difficult and draining. You may be very precise in what you say, you may be very calculated with your words, but if I don’t trust you, I think to myself, “I hear what you’re saying but what do you really mean?”
When trust is high, conversation is easy. Even if I make a mistake in what I say, if you and I trust each other, you still understand my meaning. Trust fills in the gaps. Fostering interpersonal trust is critical for the development of quality relationships.
Third: Master Conversations That Matter
Imagine a line extending from right to left. On one end of the line you write the word “Healthy” and on the opposite end you write the word “Toxic.” The current state of every relationship within the entire organization, can be plotted somewhere along that line.
Author, Susan Scott reminds us that the current state of every relationship is shaped one conversation at a time – one fruitful conversation, one failed conversation, or one missed conversation at a time.
Conversations are critical for enhancing the quality of relationships within the organization. While no single conversation is guaranteed to initiate transformational change, any one conversation – planned or not – has the potential to make a significant impact.
Fourth: Engage in Healthy Conflict
This phrase comes from Patrick Lencioni, one of my favourite leadership authors and speakers. There are a handful of living people who, despite my never having met them in person, have had a profound impact on my life. Patrick is one of these people. I hope one day to meet him, and perhaps even share a meal as families… although with 16 people around the table, it might get a little chaotic! I digress…
Lencioni suggests, contrary to popular wisdom, that conflict is good for organizational health. In fact, fear of conflict is almost always a sign of deeper problems. The key is to engage in healthy ideological conflict.
Personality wars, petty griping, vocalizing judgments, condemning language – there is no place for these behaviours in a healthy organization. But ideological conflict, where individuals and teams can disagree but still commit to a shared course of action – that is where the magic is. Healthy conflict is a sign of high quality relationships and a robust culture.
Fifth: Collaborative Decision Making
Organizations rise and fall by the decisions they make and execute. It’s a pretty simple economy: good decisions, good results; bad decisions, bad results. When it comes to making quality decisions, outcome and process are both important and derive from the same source – collaboration.
Organizations rise and fall by the decisions they make and execute. Share on XOutcome refers to the smartness of the decisions themselves. Smart decisions are sound in their rationale, they are logical, strategic, mindful of the system in which they will be executed, and focused on the right things at the right time.
Smart decisions are the best decisions that give the organization the greatest chance to succeed.
One person operating alone can’t possibly come up with all the right decisions for the organization. Regardless of how intelligent you are, a single perspective is too narrow, individual experience too limited, and isolated thinking too shallow. The only thing more destructive to an organization than group think is individual think. Many perspectives are needed.
Process is what Stephen Covey long advocated for with this very simple notion: no involvement, no commitment. If the people tasked with the responsibility to execute the decision are not involved in the process that leads to decision, they won’t be all that committed.
The decision-making process must involve the people who will be responsible for its execution, even if they only contribute consultative input. People will not actually commit to a decision if they have not had the opportunity to provide input, ask questions, and understand the rationale behind the decision that was made.
The decision making process must involve the people who will be responsible for its execution. Share on XI hope the ideas presented here (and last week) have deepened your understanding of organizational culture. Act on what you have learned. Put it into practice. Be a doer, not just a hearer (or reader!). You won’t regret it.
My purpose in starting a blog was to provide a source of encouragement, inspiration and formation for leaders committed to building ministries and organizations dedicated to the New Evangelization. Please send your questions to here: brett@brettpowell.org. I might use your question in an upcoming blog or video. If you do not want me to use your name, just say so.