How to inspire a healthy corporate culture

How do boards inspire a culture right through their organisations that they can be proud of?

According to Natalie Ashdown, CEO of the Open Door Coaching Group and author of Bring Out Their Best (as reported in The Boardroom Report, Volume 8, Issue 23, December 2010) they have to lead from the front.

She says they have to start with the values of the board, asking the questions like “What is most important?” and “What is our vision for the culture of the organisation?”

“The board must walk the talk. It must be able to clearly demonstrate the behaviours it wishes to see in the organisation. And, it must provide a clear mandate to the CEO and his or her team to role model and demonstrate and communicate the values and behaviours in everything that they do.

“The board, the CEO and their team need to openly hold each other accountable for role modelling and demonstrating the values.  In addition, the board and the CEO must give HR a clear mandate to implement the culture into leadership development programs and HR processes and procedures, such as interviews, performance reviews and job descriptions. And then, they must openly celebrate the successful demonstration of the culture and keep people accountable if they are not in line with the culture.”

Ashdown says the most common mistake a board can make is to enforce a “top down” approach without engaging all levels of the organisation or holding people accountable. It may also want everything to be perfect and therefore change takes too long and implementation is diluted.

“Because of this, value and vision become a ‘plaque on the wall’ rather than something against which you can hold me accountable.”

So how does a board assess what kind of culture the organisation needs to make it proud? Ashdown says it should:

• Think about the organisation three years from now, asking: What kind of workplace would make us proud? What are we hearing and seeing in the workplace? What steps have been taken to move towards the culture? Who has left and who has joined?
• Look at the statistics – sales figures, sick leave accrued, turnover, number of innovative projects completed, customer satisfaction and engagement surveys, Workcover claims etc – and how they have changed.
• Talk to other boards and CEOs who are implementing change.

She says the questions a board should be asking management to ensure that culture is ingrained right down the organisation to the front line include:

• How would you describe the culture of our organisation?
• How do our customers describe us?
• How are you living the culture that we know we all want for our organisation?
• How are you inspiring and influencing the culture of your team, department or division?
• What needs to change to create the culture that we can be proud of, and what is your role?

What have your learned about instilling and influencing organisational culture?  Write a comment on this article and share your wisdom.