What Levers Can Leaders Use to Drive Positive Organisational Culture?
Organisational culture is critical to productivity, engagement, retention, and overall results. But what are the most effective tools that help improve organisational culture?
Statistics gathered by the Arbinger Institute underscore how valuable company culture is to businesses. 90% of executives say company culture is increasingly important. 46% of all decision-makers and leaders report that culture drives improvements in growth-critical areas like employee productivity, retention, and engagement.
The institute's findings point to leadership as central to creating and maintaining a strong organisational culture. 52% say leadership development provides the most significant impact on improving corporate culture. Organisations focused on mindset in their leadership development programs are almost 2x as likely to have employees who feel they are doing meaningful work.
The results are mirrored in a Gallup study that attributed 70% of the variance in employee engagement to their managers.
As we have explored elsewhere, evolving leaders’ skills, including leadership mindsets, and building an inclusive culture are great tools in this connection. They can create lasting, positive organisational culture changes that support the growth of employees, teams and the company.
However, other tools can also help change or mature an organisational culture. These include leaders considering:
How to set direction: Leaders help determine the organisation's goals and direction. A strong future vision fosters confidence and a shared sense of purpose. This can best be achieved by developing an inclusive approach to direction-setting where employees feel ownership and involvement.
How to achieve and reward results: How leaders approach work and reward results shapes organisational outcomes. Leaders should strive to treat people well, appreciate them and reward good behaviour internally and externally.
How you lead: Leaders’ relationships with their teams are core to the cultural tone. Leadership styles can differ, from providing autonomy and support to maintaining more control and a strict hierarchy. While different approaches can have merit, consistency, authenticity, and actively engaging with internal and external stakeholders is key.
How you form relationships and build networks: The nature of work structures, whether promoting individual accountability or encouraging collaboration, affects team interaction and influences organisational outcomes.
How you communicate: Authentic communication is valued by today’s employees and audiences, even when that requires candid communication and acknowledging shortcomings.
How you compete: The focus, whether on internal improvement or seeking external opportunities for differentiation, guides organisational energy and resources, affecting customer acquisition and retention strategies.
How you learn: Balancing action and analysis and encouraging traditional or innovative learning methods influence organisational adaptation and improvement. The right balance will likely depend on the company’s situation and the capabilities of the individuals involved.
How you change: Leaders must consider their approach to change, whether reactive or proactive, focused on specific areas or integrated across the organisation, to foster adaptability and continuous improvement.
Each lever can help leaders shape organisational practices and cultures to navigate challenges and achieve sustainable success.
When evaluating which levers to pull to create positive change in organisational culture, it's important to remember the unique aspects of an organisation. These include factors like its location, industry, existing culture, and values.
Read more about tools for driving positive organisational culture here and here.
