Culture and the role of the executive leader

I recently attended an army ‘Dining Out’; an opportunity to give thanks and appreciate the contribution that an individual has made on posting to another role or on retirement. It's an opportunity for people to dress up, enjoy a fine meal, socialise and network. As I was enjoying the evening, I was struck by how elements of culture were being played out in front of me. What I saw that evening was a complex, multi-layered expression of the organisation’s DNA.

Culture is often described as ‘how we do things around here’ or as ‘the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society’. Culture is developed over time from an organisation's history. Stories of heroic acts are important. Traditions and rituals may be passed to succeeding generations and express prevailing values, beliefs and behavioural norms. It is a powerful undercurrent and driver for both good and bad.

Organisation Alignment, is the strategic leadership activity of ensuring that there is balance between Strategy, Support and Culture. While there should be an equal focus on each of these dimensions there is often a skew to the more obvious and tangible elements of strategy, business plans, targets, organisation design, policies, procedures, systems and processes. Culture often receives a rather superficial attention.

I’m currently working with a number of organisations where aspects of the prevailing culture are having a significant impact on organisation performance, alignment, employee engagement and wellbeing. The prevailing issues can all be traced back to long-standing, legacy issues….policies that are used as reasons to ’not do’, a lack of openness, transparency and consistency in leadership and management relationships, low levels of trust, negative assumptions, a tolerance of poor behaviour and a lack of clarity around expectations, to name but a few. It can be challenging to disrupt and transform a sub-optimal culture.

I’d argue establishing a positive culture is a critical component of strategic leadership and I’m full of admiration for those who choose to address culture alongside their other executive leadership responsibilities and priorities. While culture is shaped by both leaders and followers, those at the top of every organisation can have a disproportionate influence on its evolution because:

·     Culture happens when people get together regularly

·     People copy, coach and correct each other

·     What you ignore you tolerate

·     What is tolerated becomes normal

·     What is normal is copied

·     Culture evolves and is sustained in every interaction and action

This highlights why executive leaders must be laser-focussed on their own attitudes and behaviours. Every time they’re in the eye line of their employees they’re acting as role-models, for better or for worse. To that end, my executive leader development work focusses on how personal drivers show up as leadership behaviours. Self-awareness is key and the starting point for all ongoing development and evolution, whether personal effectiveness or culture transformation.

If you’d like to find out more about my approach, please get in touch.