Define these Four Elements to Change Your Work Culture

Define these Four Elements to Change Your Work Culture

S. Chris Edmonds is a sought-after speaker, author, and executive consultant. He’s the founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group, which he launched in 1990. Chris helps senior leaders build and sustain purposeful, positive, productive work cultures. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including Amazon bestsellers Good Comes First (2021) with Mark Babbitt, The Culture Engine (2014), and Leading at a Higher Level (2008) with Ken Blanchard.

Define, align, and refine – these are the elements that make up our proven three-phase culture refinement process. It’s beneficial to examine the “define” stage, as it creates a foundation for your purposeful, positive, productive work culture.

My approach is founded on this fact – senior leaders must drive and champion their organization’s work culture. They cannot delegate this responsibility to HR or any other function – they must model and coach their desired culture daily. They are responsible for clarity in the organization’s framework:

servant purpose
values and behaviors
strategies
goals

In the define stage, we help senior leaders formalize their desired culture through an organizational constitution based on these four foundational elements.

In the Define stage, leaders must:

Specify the organization’s present-day servant purpose.

When I interview leaders and team members in an organization, I ask, “What’s the purpose of this organization?” 95% of the answers fall in two categories – delivering a product or service, like “we print catalogs,” or “to make money.”

The reality is that most employees are not deeply inspired by the tactical output of the company. Nor do most employees receive a direct benefit when the organization makes money. However, most employees are motivated by the opportunity to serve others – and to collaborate with trusted teammates to serve others.

An effective servant purpose describes:
– What the organization does
– For whom
– To what end
– How what you produce improves the quality of life for customers and communities.

Formalize your organization’s desired values.

Values are the principles you want demonstrated in every interaction – between bosses and team members, among team members, between team members and customers, etc.

So, define, align, and refine to change your work culture into a place where your values are upheld in everyday interactions.

CHRIS EDMONDS

Define those values in observable, measurable terms – because that makes them actionable.

Lofty principles like “integrity” mean different things to different players. By defining a value like integrity with 2-3 behaviors – for example, “I do what I say I will do” – you translate ideals into daily behaviors that everyone can embrace.

Define a strategic plan with performance objectives and goals clearly specified.

Once senior leaders come to consensus on these essential elements of their organizational constitution, they are ready for the next – and hardest – stage: align all plans, decisions, and actions to your organizational constitution. In this stage, hard choices will have to be made. Routines, processes, and interactions may have to change, and there will be an adjustment period. Some people may not embrace your “integrity” value or your “teamwork” value. You may need to set those folks be set free if they cannot accommodate the values and behaviors of your organization.

Alignment never ends.

The third stage is refine. As noted in the align stage, you cannot tolerate leaders or players behaving badly. Give those players a chance. If they align, celebrate that. If they are unable to align, lovingly set them free. Clients typically find the need to revise behaviors over time. For example, if you have a behavior like “show up on time, ready to perform” as part of your “excellence” value, two years into this process you may find that 95% of your workforce demonstrate that behavior. At the same time, you may need to implement a new behavior in your ”excellence” value like “team goals are as important as individual goals.” You can “retire” the “show up on time” behavior (since it is embedded in your work culture) and elevate the “team goals” behavior to replace it.

So, define, align, and refine to change your work culture into a place where your values are upheld in everyday interactions. The benefits include a 40% increase in employee engagement, a 40% increase in customer service, and a 35% increase in results and profits, all within 18 months of implementing our culture process.