Wednesday October 8, 2014
By Dr Michael Heah
Question: I hear the word ‘corporate culture’ being discussed on many occasions.
Usually, I do not participate in such discussions because at the back of my mind I feel it is just another kind of hype to make a conversation interesting or to impress someone with such jargon.
But with more of this topic being covered today, I am beginning to wonder whether it is worth knowing more, or whether it is important for my organisation to do something about corporate culture.
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Answer: Let’s get one thing right: Every organisation has a corporate culture whether they want it or not. After all, culture is simply a set of beliefs, values and behaviours of people in an organisation.
The more important issue is whether the culture is an enabler for further organisational growth or is actually a roadblock.
An enabling culture means its beliefs, values and behaviours are in sync with one another, and they are well-aligned to support the organisational goal. When this happens, the energy of the organisation is flowing in the right direction, as people are motivated and productivity is high. This is what I called a high-performing culture in an organisation.
Most high-performing organisations are led by purposeful leaders who not only provide a vision, but provide compelling ones too.
Everyone is focused towards one clear vision which is accepted and identified with. A good level of trust exists where people are not controlled; they take charge and take risks to improve their quality of work.
Powerful questions:
1 How would you describe the ‘going on’ by the people in your organisation?
2 How conducive is this in helping your organisation to be what it wants to be?
3 What else is missing?
4 What do you want to do to make it more supportive to grow into the organisation you want?
Article by Dr Michael Heah, an ICF Master Certified Coach with www.corporate-coachacademy.com
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10 undeniable signs you’re a workaholic
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