22 BCBusiness FEBruArY 2016 illuSTrATioNS: ViCToriA pArK
Culture Club
D - I - Y M a n a g e m e n t
ConneCT IT
Develop a simple and clear line of sight that
connects your unique cultural attributes to
achieving business success, says Handford:
What are you there for, what results are
you trying to attain and how do you con-
nect the culture to that at every level of
the organization? Organizations move in
the direction of the questions their leaders
most frequently and passionately pose,
says Bushe.¢"Engage those networks in
answering questions that point toward the
new culture you want, and provide oppor-
tunities for them to test your sincerity."
Make sense oF IT
Understand the networks of meaning-
making in your organization and
the current narratives (e.g., "Around
here executives are just interested in
their bonuses") people are using to
make sense of you and the organiza-
tion, says Bushe.¢"Changing those
narratives is what changes a culture."
People make sense of organizational
decisions and actions by whether
they align with their understanding of
corporate values, says Handford. "It's
pretty straightforward. You can't say
one thing and deliver another."
deFIne IT
You can't implement a culture, but you
can try to shape it in a positive way, says
Bushe, co-author of Dialogic Organization
Development. Handford agrees that while
you can devise an initial framework for the
culture, it quickly gets organic and then
you shift into shaping mode. Still, most
award-winning cultures start with a strong
set of values, what they stand for and hope
to achieve, he says. "To me that's a criti-
cal kind of exercise, and I think that also
informs the shaping of the organization."
Talk aBouT IT
Most high-performance cultures are
shaped constantly, consistently, inten-
tionally and ideally at all levels, says
Handford. "You need to build skills
around discussing your own culture.
It demysti—es the topic and it helps
you develop a clear and consistent
understanding of core values and what
sets your company culture potentially
apart at all levels of the organization."
According to Bushe, "To shape a cul-
ture you have to in«uence how people
who talk to each other day-to-day make
sense of organizational policies, proce-
dures, decisions and actions."
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Be parT oF IT
"The actions of leaders are the
main lever organizations have
for shaping culture. What you
do sends a much louder signal
than what you intend or what
you say," says Bushe. Genu-
ine participation within the
culture by leadership is a big
di˜erentiator among highly
respected corporate cultures,
says Handford. "You can't fake
that as a leader. Often in orga-
nizations I think that some of
the leadership sits a little bit
outside the culture; it feels like
they're managing it."
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What goes into building a successful corporate culture? Matthew Handford,
chief people officer at Coast Capital Savings, and gervase Bushe, Beedie
School of Business professor, offer some suggestions
by Felicity Stone
