CULTURE STORIES: OUR VALUES AND BEHAVIOURS … THE VIBE
You will often hear people describe their workplace as having ‘a great culture’ or a ‘toxic culture’ and not really be able to articulate it beyond that … just that ‘you know if it's the right fit for you or not’. Sound familiar?
It reminds me of the words Dennis Denuto shares in the iconic Australian movie The Castle when he is trying to sum up his case for the judge: ‘It's the constitution. It's Mabo. It's justice. It's law. It's the vibe … that's it. It's the vibe. I rest my case.’
When we refer to culture, what we are really talking about (aside from the vibe) are the values and behaviours of a group of people. That could be a business, a sporting club or your own family. There is a certain set of values and rules that people in this group are expected to live by.
COMPANY VALUES NEED TO BE COMMUNICATED IN SUCH A WAY THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND ENGAGE WITH THEM.
The issue is that the standard approach to communicating values seems to be to print them on every available surface, especially coffee mugs and even mouse pads back in the day.
Normally, cultural change programs in larger organisations involve coming up with a new purpose, new values, new behaviours, and ‘rolling them out’, often changing with the appointment of a new CEO. If you have been in business for a while you have probably gone through your fair share of values ‘roll-outs’. You may even have a collection of mouse pads and coffee mugs to prove it.
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