Organizational culture exists and can literally define the success or failure for your company. For some it may be hard to think of an organization or business having a culture. It can be a very elusive concept but extremely critical in an organization's health. It determines the importance of relationships; it defines structure and creates processes for executing goals. It also determines the morale and loyalty within a company. It is more than important, and yet so many organization leaders are unaware of their values and the culture they create within their organizations.
So what is this? There are four major types of cultures a company can possess; Control (Hiearchy), Create (Adhocracy), Compete (Market), and Collaborate(Clan), and each one comes with its own set of rules and nuances. Control and Collaborate, although totally different, are both focused internally. Control thrives in extreme control (hence its name) and structure. Huge corporate businesses often have a Control culture and focus greatly on results and outputs. Collaborate, however, focuses on flexibility and discretion.It gives a lot of weight to loyalty and cohesiveness.
Now the other two cultures, Compete and Create focus externally. Compete, shares traits like its counterpart, Control, but responds to the needs of the consumer or client. It is market driven and relies heavily on strategic partnerships and productivity, thus allowing a minimum amount of flexibility. Now lastly we have Create, which is focuses on, (can you guess?), creativity! The create culture prides itself on innovation.
Now what does this all mean? Well, in simple terms it means everthing! If you work in a very collaborative culture but need outputs of a control culture than as a leader, you must be able to understand how to create subcultures within your organization in order to get the intended outcomes. But, you must do this is in a manner that keeps your team feeling appreciated and heard. Collaborative cultures are essentially families. The team usually invests their whole selves in their work and as such, there is little separation between work and home. Feelings run high in collaborative cultures and as a leader, you must be able to navigate and control emotions in order to accomplish your goals. Now, if you a leader of a Control culture but your employees have more of a collaborative culture, you and your team may find yourselves quite fustrated! They may feel neglected and uncared for and as a consequence their morale and productivity most likely will decrease (which will only fustrate you more).
If you are a leader of a Compete culture, it means that you must invest your time and money on continuous market research. Social gatherings, trainings and conferences are a must. You excel and surpass your competitors by staying in the loop and on top of the clients' needs. As a leader you must attract and instill this concept in your employees. And lastly, if you are the leader of a Create culture, then your energy is spent on cutting edge ideas and processes. You nurture the creativity and stretch the imagination of your employees in order to stay on top. You reward and praise them in a way that keeps their morale high and ideas flowing!
And sometimes, believe it or not, a company can have all four cultures existing together or employees that bring different cultures to the company. It can be difficult to accomplish your goals or keep everyone happy if a leader doesn't understand the dynamics of the organization. Culture also becomes extremely important when hiring new employees. Along with the right set of qualifications and skills, its important to attract persons with a complimentary culture. In all, culture is an important piece of fabric that may not be as explicit as bottom lines or service rendering but affects the success of an organization just as much. Know your culture!
So what is this? There are four major types of cultures a company can possess; Control (Hiearchy), Create (Adhocracy), Compete (Market), and Collaborate(Clan), and each one comes with its own set of rules and nuances. Control and Collaborate, although totally different, are both focused internally. Control thrives in extreme control (hence its name) and structure. Huge corporate businesses often have a Control culture and focus greatly on results and outputs. Collaborate, however, focuses on flexibility and discretion.It gives a lot of weight to loyalty and cohesiveness.
Now the other two cultures, Compete and Create focus externally. Compete, shares traits like its counterpart, Control, but responds to the needs of the consumer or client. It is market driven and relies heavily on strategic partnerships and productivity, thus allowing a minimum amount of flexibility. Now lastly we have Create, which is focuses on, (can you guess?), creativity! The create culture prides itself on innovation.
Now what does this all mean? Well, in simple terms it means everthing! If you work in a very collaborative culture but need outputs of a control culture than as a leader, you must be able to understand how to create subcultures within your organization in order to get the intended outcomes. But, you must do this is in a manner that keeps your team feeling appreciated and heard. Collaborative cultures are essentially families. The team usually invests their whole selves in their work and as such, there is little separation between work and home. Feelings run high in collaborative cultures and as a leader, you must be able to navigate and control emotions in order to accomplish your goals. Now, if you a leader of a Control culture but your employees have more of a collaborative culture, you and your team may find yourselves quite fustrated! They may feel neglected and uncared for and as a consequence their morale and productivity most likely will decrease (which will only fustrate you more).
If you are a leader of a Compete culture, it means that you must invest your time and money on continuous market research. Social gatherings, trainings and conferences are a must. You excel and surpass your competitors by staying in the loop and on top of the clients' needs. As a leader you must attract and instill this concept in your employees. And lastly, if you are the leader of a Create culture, then your energy is spent on cutting edge ideas and processes. You nurture the creativity and stretch the imagination of your employees in order to stay on top. You reward and praise them in a way that keeps their morale high and ideas flowing!
And sometimes, believe it or not, a company can have all four cultures existing together or employees that bring different cultures to the company. It can be difficult to accomplish your goals or keep everyone happy if a leader doesn't understand the dynamics of the organization. Culture also becomes extremely important when hiring new employees. Along with the right set of qualifications and skills, its important to attract persons with a complimentary culture. In all, culture is an important piece of fabric that may not be as explicit as bottom lines or service rendering but affects the success of an organization just as much. Know your culture!
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