“Culture is a balanced blend of human psychology, attitudes, actions, and beliefs that combined create either pleasure or pain, serious momentum, or miserable stagnation.”
-Shawn Parr, Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch, @FastCompany
Culture is the combination of what we believe and how we behave. It’s been said that we are creatures of habit. The same can be said for the organizations we lead. They are simply a product of our habits!
There’s always a gap between what we say we value and what we really value. Let’s close that gap a bit. Let’s honestly assess ourselves. Let’s commit to practice what we preach. Let’s ask ourselves the tough questions. Healthy things grow so let’s deal with any issues that could be affecting our culture. How?
Conviction
What are you passionate about? What is the organization passionate about? Does everyone know it Does everyone feel it?
Crank it up a bit! When Jesus came on the scene, the Bible says He “taught as one having authority, not as the teachers of the law” (Mk 1:22). In other words, he taught with conviction, passion, and moral authority! You should do the same.
Clarity
Are you crystal clear on the culture you’re trying to build? Test yourself. Pass out Post-It notes and ask everyone to answer this question: “what’s the most important thing around here?” The variety of answers will surprise you. Trust me. Get clear on the vision!
Consistency
You must walk the talk. Your actions must match your words. You can’t change like shifting sands. You can’t doubt yourself so much. You can’t have vision schizophrenia. Be intentional. Be consistent. Stay the course. No plan is perfect, so just work your plan. Tell them what’s important over and over again….at least weekly. Be consistent! After a while, everyone will begin to believe you mean business about this.
Courage
Most common command in the Bible? Do not be afraid. Second most common? Have courage! Be courageous! Leadership is not for cowards. It’s for the courageous. Have that courageous conversation. Make that courageous call. Confront reality. Confront toxicity. Pull the trigger. Go!
4 Habits for Building a Healthy Organizational Culture, by Shawn Lovejoy, is an article from Pastors.com. © 2012 Pastors.com.
