Without the right combination of mindsets and behaviours in place in can be impossible to effect any change let alone achieve optimal performance. After all, in the words of Peter Drucker, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". 

In saying this, he wasn’t suggesting that strategy was not important – it is! But rather, he was saying that the culture of an organization can have as much, if not more, impact on the success of that strategy. 

We define culture in an organization simply as “how we do what we do”. In other words, the assumptions and resulting behaviours that are in practice exhibited within the organization (a.k.a considered “ok”) in the pursuit of its objectives. These behaviours could relate to:

  • the way and extent to which we collaborate
  • the amount of managerial oversight and control typically required on a file
  • how proactive and creative people are at finding solutions when they encounter problems
  • how much people are willing to speak up when they have concerns
  • etc. 

From a Lean perspective, we want to encourage behaviours throughout the organization – at all levels – that minimize interruptions to flow and promote employee engagement. The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence awarded by the Shingo Institute refers to “ideal behaviours” grounded in business principles that in one way or another apply to all organizations – be they commercial, government, not-for-profit, manufacturing, services, etc. See here for more information on Shingo: https://shingo.org/model/

Having the ability to objectively identify where we are now (current assumptions and behaviours) and where we want to be (ideal assumptions and behaviours) AND developing a plan on how to get there, can be a real game-changer. It’s about deliberately shaping our organization’s culture. Which, practically-speaking, is about maximizing the potential of every individual in the organization in the pursuit of its objectives.

This workshop covers and links together the following content:

In this content area, we cover:

  • The link between mindsets and behaviours – more specifically how individual mindsets (pre-conceptions and assumptions) can get in the way of developing desired organizational behaviours
  • Practical and immediately applicable behavioural models for participants to start building a culture of: High Performance; Accountability; Trust; Collaboration; Continuous Improvement
  • Starting with leaders, gaining insight on what about “me” makes it difficult to shift my behaviour in a way that I want, and how to overcome it.

OPTIONS:

  • Two day workshop, ideally with intact teams (could be hierarchical, functional, virtual etc.). Content and delivery to be customized according to the needs of the team
  • An optional 1/2 day follow-up team session
  • Coaching and mentoring

TIP

Evolving the organizational culture” sounds daunting, and not a little subjective. That is because we tend to talk about it in terms of how we want people to think or feel, or more generally about the outcome we want to achieve. As in: “(s)he needs to pay more attention to the quality of their work” ... or “(s)he needs to be more accountable” … (s)he needs to be more client-focussed”.

The problem with this type of discussion is that it doesn’t provide any insight into how to do it.

Trying to effect change just by mandating mindsets (how people feel/think) or outcomes is extremely difficult to do. We can’t force people to think differently if they don’t want to (or can’t). And just telling then to “get it done” leaves much to chance.

Focussing on behaviours - rather than mindsets or outcomes - is more effective. Organizationally, we CAN objectively describe the behaviours we expect from employees. And we CAN mandate and measure the extent of compliance.