Articles about organizational culture, collaboration in teams, and cross-cultural collaboration. Theory and tools. Cases and experiences from fellow leaders, consultants, and role-model organizations. Book reviews. Interviews. Coverage of seminars.
With an emphasis on positive organizational cultures that foster openness, trust and kindness to boost innovation, agility, collaboration and thus results.
Is there proof that organizational culture matters? Does it really determine performance? Let’s look at the ground-breaking study of Professors John Kotter and James Heskett. They studied the corporate cultures of over 200 companies (including Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, ICI, Nissan, and First Chicago) and tracked their economic performances over an 11-year period. What they found is fascinating: your culture can enhance …
Guest Post by Kimberley Barker When you’re looking to be a positive agent or leader in your workplace, here’s a great book for inspiration! That’s why I’m pleased to share this review by my friend Kimberley Barker. The book “Humble Leadership, The Power of Relationship, Openness, and Trust” shares Ed and Peter Schein’s vision of Humble Leadership and the relationship …
Culture matters during mergers and acquisitions. If you can make a positive start, you’ll ease the process of working together. Here’s the case of one of my clients. Because they wish to remain anonymous we’ll call them ET. They acquired a number of other companies and understood that checking the culture would be crucial for success. George Gentry is head …
“Things weren’t great”, Joyce told me. She’s an internal consultant at a large city municipality with 7,000 staff. Their social department of about 500 people showed alarming absenteeism numbers. This social department helps the unemployed citizens of this city find a job. They offer various training, upgrading of skills, and above all, a network of local employers that are trying …
Kanna Krishnan is a “positive agent” and holds a senior position in Human Resources. He is tasked with developing a progressive culture for BTC. That’s why he used the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and followed the Positive Culture Academy, as explained in part 1. BTC dreamed and defined their preferred positive culture and ways to stimulate Positive Awareness, Connection …
A couple of years ago, a large biotech company set up its first overseas plant in Asia where around 600 people work to date. Let’s give this real company the name BTC. Their challenge was there weren’t many skilled workers in the region. BTC hired local talent for their ability to learn and sent more than 300 employees to the …
Hi, have you checked your emails? Are you short and to-the-point? Of course, you’re not at work to write a novel in emails. But using salutations in emails isn’t a big thing while the results can be incredible – as both research and practice show! We discuss the research in the online Positive Culture Academy (join us if you want …
Here’s part 2 of our exploration of what is already working well at work. If we pay attention and energy to what we normally take for granted, and see how we could amplify the good things, the results might dazzle you. What if you could start a positive spiral of small successes and little joys that invigorate yourself and your …
People are wired to notice what goes wrong, what could be a threat, and what is missing. It’s what saved us during our evolution, in times of danger and scarcity. Negative comments, events, mistakes, problems and threats stand out. It’s natural, and often also reinforced by our upbringing and training. Many business schools and managers still focus on solving problems, …
So you think you can change? If your culture needs to change or to improve the place to start is where you are: in current culture. What is the way we do things around here? Understanding the behaviors, but also deeper beliefs and values is essential before you start. What is normal in your current organizational culture? Let’s see some …
How positive is your current culture, on a scale of 1 to 10? It’s a question that participants of the online Positive Culture Academy work with, if needed. What would your score be, and would you like to improve it? One participant shared: “Maybe a 2 or 3. My current company culture is becoming less and less positive. We had …
A CEO invited some executives to a meeting from two different levels. He asked a question and then went around the table for ideas. When he got to one of the lower level executives, he said: “Sorry, I just want to hear from (the higher level) leaders” and moved on. Did you ever encounter such a situation? What happened? In …
