Two Dimensions of Culture

As learned last week, culture can influence behavior, and culture is often fueled from the top, i.e., leadership. Further, there are underlying assumptions about culture, e.g., its fortitude. Even with consistency among cultural assumptions, there are distinct differences in culture styles. HBR found that regardless of a company’s size, industry, or geography, there are two primary attributes or dimensions that remain the same. These dimensions are people interactions and response to change. [I did say I would dive into the cultural styles this week, but that will have to wait until I define these dimensions further!]

People Interactions

People interactions define a company’s tendency to place priority on independence OR interdependence.

• Does the organization value collaboration, relationship management, and the coordination of group processes/effort? Then it classifies as an interdependent-heavy structure.

• Does the organization focus on competition and stress the value of autonomy and individual contribution? Then it classifies as an independent-heavy structure.

Note: Interdependent organizations and independent organizations can be more thoroughly defined and understood by global cultural differences as well, even if the company is state-side.

The point here is that people define and create culture (not just one person does this – but the majority), and it is the dynamics of interpersonal communication that will dictate an overarching feel of the organization.

Response to Change

Change can be daunting. Psychologists Kurt Lewin and Edgar Schein researched the topic in detail and peeled back the layers of complexity. In short, it is human nature to resist change. It is even in our DNA to associate evolution with danger. But, the good news is once we know our brains react this way, we have the power to overcome the hesitancy to the thing we fear. Looking back to how change influences culture: some cultures place great importance on stability. Stability encompasses consistency, transparent structures, hierarchy, and processes. Other organizations favor flexibility, receptiveness to change, innovation, and openness.

It is no surprise that change resilience is a crucial dimension to culture. Will change shake the organization at its core, or will the organization as a whole see opportunity in change?

Under the dimension framework of people interactions and response to change, it is clear how organizations’ cultures vary. Where does yours fall? If you are aiming to change a culture – or even better: define your culture – it is necessary to grasp what aspects of these dimensions are exuded, practiced, and/or preached.

Cultural styles – and the advantages/disadvantages, are up next week. (For real this time!)

Culture: The Elusive Lever

Whether we want it to be this way or not, leadership is directly linked to culture. Culture is influenced by leadership, and it is the leader(s) that actively take part in changing it.

Culture can drive behavior, change behavior, and even enable behavior. Whether we are reviewing the seminal work on culture (I will not bore you with that) or evaluating a modern-day company to assess culture, there are several notions most leadership experts, and researchers, can agree upon. My aim is to identify basic assumptions about culture, noted below. As a follow-up to this article, I will address several "culture styles." (If you do not know where you are, how will you know where you want to go?)

A culture does not live alone. It is created by shared behaviors and, my personal favorite, shared values. The culture is simply an amalgamation of norms and expectations. Dare I say: culture defines the unwritten rules. (Yet, I challenge leaders to write down the values that push culture forward.)

A culture lives on. Think of clients you have worked with, or customers to whom you have sold. Did they have a distinct culture? It is likely that culture has been in the works for some time. In fact, culture can attract people who are like-minded (see Benjamin Schneider’s model). It is the in-and-out group structuring of culture. The social pattern is present, attracts like-minded people, and the tracks becomes more engrained with each loop. Those who do not fit in tend to depart on their own free will, and the carousel goes ‘round.

A culture is a part of being human. Let us not forget our ancestors – they are our reason for being here, for surviving (yes, we can thank our ancestors for these wicked fight or flight responses – they kept us alive, albeit they are no longer needed in our lion-free cities!). Humans are meant to be with others – thus culture continuity makes all the more sense as discussed above. Just as homophily (birds of a feather flock together) is alive and well, behaviors have followed suit. [It is a bit more complex than I am making it out to be – see S. Schwartz and E.O. Wilson’s research for more detail.] Further, humans not only respond to culture, they are able to sense it. I know this much is for sure: I have been told by business professionals what their culture embodies, and have felt the opposite. But I have also been an active contributor to organizations where what they said was reality. It is in those moments I smile a smile of contentment.

Culture styles – they are up next week.

/Initially published via LinkedIn Articles/

Help! My Employee is Entitled.

Did you know there is very little scientific data about the differences among generations? The studies that have been conducted indicate generational nuances are more about life-stage as opposed to directly correlated attributes of a generation, e.g., entitlement. [I bet you can guess which generation is labeled as entitled, even though I did not indicate!] What this says is two-fold. First, the discourse has led to assumed normality’s, when in actuality certain adjectives are not indicative of generations. Yet, we associate baby-boomers with being sheltered by their not-so-sheltered Traditionalist parents, and we associate Gen Xers with being stealth-bomb parents (the marginalized generation who didn’t get enough attention). Second, it says we are looking at the problem at a micro, not macro, scale.

Here’s the deal: a team member can be 20, 30, or 40 and still behave like an entitled frog prince (or princess). I recently read a great article about the effects of entitlement on human resource management and the managerial challenges that entitlement poses. The entitlement plague is not a generation; it is a mindset that is fueled by culture. A culture dedicated to social media, television, and the internet. This “me first” society is the conditioning tool, and we are Pavlov’s dog. We are speaking before we listen, pushing before we yield, and doing all of this while looking in the mirror (not for introspection purposes, but because we are vain). If that does not sound like the perfect mix to produce narcissists, I do not know what does.

OK, but you still have that entitled employee. There are steps to take as a manager to help them evolve, and ensure your sanity in the process (and, if you follow my blog, you may already have the answers).

So much of what I talk about is rooted in expectations: both organizationally and on the team level. A plan of attack to address entitlement includes:

• Refer to company policies: values, mission, ethics code, and code of conduct. Know these well and make sure your team does, too. 

• Review and reiterate team expectations. Rather than “produce results,” quantify those results. Increase your client base by 10% in the next four months. Precise clarity reduces employees' ability to exaggerate (or inflate results, which is sometimes seen by entitled individuals).

• Appreciate your team, but also get creative. Change bringing in bagels every week on Thursdays to bringing the team to get coffee, or having an offsite meeting. Regularity can breed entitlement. “Where are my bagels??”

• Counter entitlement with its antidote: gratitude. [Need help incorporating gratitude into your team? I have tips!]

• Do not wait until it is too late to address concerns. Speak with the instigator of entitlement sooner rather than later. Identify what behaviors are problematic and why.

Initially published on LinkedIn through my Articles

There’s No Reasoning with a Bully.

Bullies are often associated with high school. Bullies will not exist in the later years of life, we told ourselves. Too bad we were all wrong. Bullies find a way to maintain their bully-like tendencies throughout life – regardless of social expectations. What’s more: their tactics have become honed! The bully’s behavior minimizes others, makes him or she feel better about themselves, and wreaks havoc upon anyone in their way. And yes, they are our colleagues. 

Although I like to envision a dramatized version of bullies (you cannot beat Biff’s bully persona in the beloved Back to the Future series), the reality is that we are surrounded by bullies, some of whom hold reputable and influential positions. If there is no reasoning with a bully (trust me, emotional intelligence is not their strong suit), what is the next best thing?

As a manager of people, the most significant power you possess is the ability to influence. If you have any chance at changing a bully’s behavior, it starts with you. Set a team policy for ethical behavior in the workplace. It is plausible your place of work has an ethics policy. If bullying is covered, great. Use that verbiage. If it isn’t, I encourage you to speak with leadership to incorporate an anti-bullying policy and/or edit the behavioral code of conduct. Use this as a guide not only for yourself, but for your team. Regularly communicate the updated (or same) ethics code/code of conduct policy within your coterie. Being able to walk the walk is of utmost importance here.

OK, you have an updated policy, as well as a new schedule to convey expectations of behavior in accordance with the ethics policy/anti-bullying policy. Yet, nothing has changed…

Next step: Incorporate respectful and civil behavioral components/expectations into your performance management metrics for your team. This is a great way to hold your team accountable for their behaviors (and, quite frankly, should already be a part of evaluation metrics). We want to work with people we can trust and respect. The higher the trust, the higher the cohesion and productivity. If you make a change to the performance management metrics, make sure to communicate it out.

Following performance metric adjustments, ensure there is a process to report bullying in the organization. If there is no existing process, collaborate with human resources to implement a company-wide program. It is essential any bullied team member feel they can disclose their concerns without ramifications. [Note: It is not unusual for a bully to demand much of a manager’s time. Keep track of this. Are your other team members getting what they need from you?]

Now that organizational measures have been considered and/or implemented and expectations are clearly conveyed, it might be time for a corrective discussion. My recommendation for conflict resolution of this caliber is to practice a tactic called Principled Negotiation. It consists of (1) Separating the people from the problem (2) Focusing on interests, not positions, (3) Inventing options for mutual gains, and (4) Insisting on using objective criteria. Ideally, bullying will be seen as an organizational issue, not an individual / team level issue. If the organization has exhausted all options, including those above, experienced conflict resolution tactics should be deployed.

Slowly, but surely, there will be no space for bullies in our places of work.