The reason that I built The Bridge Venture consulting firm was because I saw a gross need for culture development inside organizations today. Organizations and their executive leaders may not even realize what their culture is inside of their organization.
Culture will develop itself on its own, whether good or bad. It actually is developing as you are reading this article. I know that most leaders have a vision in their head about how they want their organization to look and act. But that doesn’t mean they know what culture is.
Culture is the values, norms, beliefs, rituals, languages, and accepted behaviors inside any company or organization. Is this the definition that you were thinking when I say the word culture?
Now think about the different types of culture an organization can have. There are millions of types. For example; there is a culture of teamwork, a culture of safety, a culture of rigor, a culture of inquiry, a culture of accountability, a culture of resourcefulness, a culture of revenue, a culture of fun, or a culture of the customer.
Most organizations try to understand their vision, mission, and core values first before deciding their culture type because it must, of course, align. Then from there, they construct their goals for the year around this vision, mission, core values, and culture type. This will drive the strategy in all departments over the year. Alignment is the most important piece of the puzzle because we must align our systems, processes, people, space, and strategies with the vision, mission, culture type, and core values.
Just some things for you to think about as you are starting to plan for the upcoming year. Need help with this strategy? Well, this is what I do for a living, so let’s chat, I can give you some suggestions! ~ Angelique
