“Rather than focussing on what type of culture a company
should have, business leaders should turn their attention to how
they can get their culture to perform.”
Shifting organizational culture to an adaptive mindset that
supports and aligns with the organization’s evolving strategic
imperatives is essential to sustained growth, improved performance
and long-term success.
CULTURE vs. MINDSET
Culture may be defined as the shared set of values, beliefs and
tacit assumptions that influence behaviour within the organization.
Organizational mindsets serve as worldviews or ways of
framing and engaging with the world, which shape the attention,
selection and utilization of facts, information and knowledge used
by organizations as they strive to fulfill their unique purpose and
strategic mandate.
Culture could be likened to the personality of the firm, whereas
mindset could be described as its cognitive style. Like an individual’s
personality type, there is a stability to culture which makes
it harder (though not impossible) to shift, whereas mindsets are
more malleable and can be adjusted with conscious, intentional
effort. Just as individuals each possess a distinct personality type
and a unique cognitive style, organizations also possess a distinct
culture and unique cognitive style or mindset. Until now, far less
attention has been given to understanding or assessing the organization’s
mindset, whereas culture diagnostics have been around
for many years.
THE ORGANIZATION’S INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
As human resource, talent and organizational development practitioners
well know, it’s important to understand the organization’s
internal environment to better support and execute organizational
change, innovation and transformation efforts. However,
until now, culture diagnostics were essentially the only tool available.
Imagine trying to understand the rich inner landscape of the
human mind with a personality test as the only method.
Think of the array of tools now available to help us understand
the unique operational style of individuals such as emotional intelligence,
learning styles and thinking styles. With the complexities
of organizational life, it is important to have an array of methods
to assess the internal environment of organizations. Assessing
and quantifying the organization’s mindset is critical, particularly
when trying to increase the organization’s capability to adapt and
thrive through disruption by strengthening its ability to innovate
and change more effectively.
When it comes to figuring out how leaders can “get their culture
to perform,” quantifying the organization’s mindset is a practical,
effective method. It’s like leveraging one’s cognitive style to think
and act differently while still maintaining their core personality
type. It’s not one or the other, both are important.
One might argue that an organization’s core personality (its culture)
can’t be changed. However, its mindset – how it thinks, feels
and chooses to respond to maximize performance and achieve sustained
success through disruption and accelerated change – can
be shifted. Mindset is the catalyst for transforming culture into
improved business performance. Measuring the organizational
mindset is key.
LINKING MINDSET TO GROWTH METRICS
Given the importance of understanding and assessing organizational
mindsets, it is essential to access validated tools
that are specifically designed to do just that. For example, the
Organizational Growth Indicator (OGI) is a tool that is being
used at a global level to support business leaders in multiple
industries assess their organization’s ability to adapt, change and
innovate more effectively. While quantifying an organization’s
mindset is an important first step for leaders, it is equally important
for them to make the critical connection between mindset
and their organization’s actual business performance. The OGI
successfully correlates key factors that influence an organization’s
ability to change and innovate, and links those factors to actual
performance data, such as revenue growth.
Yes, that’s right, actual revenue growth. In today’s high flux business
environment, leaders need tangible, quantifiable metrics to
validate their gut feelings and to strengthen their ability to make
sound business decisions. Although, it stands to reason that the
metrics they use ought to be meaningfully connected to the actual
performance of their businesses. Purely descriptive measures that
identify organizational types are helpful and metrics that link to
the organization’s readiness for change and its actual ability to
make adaptive shifts is even better. After all, the spirit and intent
of all transformation efforts are to tangibly and meaningfully position
the organization to be better not in theory, but in practice. n
Dr. Brett Richards is president and managing partner of Connective
Intelligence Inc.
perspectives
ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO
INCREASE THEIR ABILITY TO SHIFT
ORGANIZATIONAL MINDSETS TO
POSITION THEIR ORGANIZATIONS
FOR FUTURE SUCCESS.
nexusplexus/123RF
46 ❚ APRIL 2019 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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