Research clearly shows that culture can be changed. What’s more, experience here in Australia and New Zealand shows it can be changed. We have seen a large number of organisations ‘change’ their culture and a total of 47 organisations have achieved what we would call a ‘total transformation’ of their organisational cultures. These organisations have worked hard to move from a culture that reinforces Passive/Defensive and Aggressive/Defensive cultures to ones that are genuinely Constructive. But it’s not easy – it takes time and it takes concentrated effort to identify the relevant causes of current culture, turn these into levers for change and make the level of improvement needed to significantly impact culture in a way that people are saying that the organisation has not just changed, but has genuinely transformed the way people approach their work and interact with each other.

For such transformation to take place our research shows there are certain key principles that need to be in place:

Principle #1: It starts at the top – for culture change to become a reality it requires exemplary modelling by the CEO and the Executive team.

Principle #2: It requires a ‘burning passion’ more than a ‘burning platform’. It needs someone at the top of the organisation who is passionate about making the organisation perform at a higher level. This could be the CEO but at times it has been the head of HR.

Principle #3: The case for change needs to be made. Survey data identifies where specific effort needs to be directed. Without this it’s a bit like shooting in the dark. You might get lucky, but you probably won’t.

Principle #4: People need to be engaged in the process. Widespread ‘listening’ lays the foundation for constructive dialogue and increased personal involvement on the part of the critical mass of those in the organisation – increasing the volume of upward and downward communication.

Principle #5: Create a vocabulary around change and what it means for people. Storytelling, the use of metaphors, scenarios, ideal future state all form part of this.

Principle #6: There is no one ‘magic solution’. Every organisation must learn for itself what will work for that organisation. Simply copying what so-called ‘excellent’ organisations do does not work. Each organisation must address its own causes of culture and design a program to tackle these. That’s where survey data is vital. And involve the people to help design these programs.

Principle #7: Build self-awareness through feedback. Awareness is the key – how people at all levels behave, the impact leaders and managers have on those they lead and manage, how people work together in groups and how people interact with each other across functions within the organisation.

Principle #8: Build in reality checks. Monitor what’s working and adapt what is not.

Principle #9: There is significant science behind the process of culture change. Don’t ignore it and ‘go it alone’. Find expertise and challenge assumptions. Remember that lack of acceptance of change is the single biggest reason that change programs fail. Research shows that more than 66% of major change initiatives fail to realise their intended gains, yet more than 95% of these had good solutions.

Principle #10: Remember culture is about the systems, structures and processes that have led people to believe they should behave in certain ways. Whilst it’s seductive to focus on the behaviour, the focus in the early stages needs to be on the reinforcement systems that drive that behaviour.


Insert taken from Shaun McCarthy's White Paper - "Cutting Through the Noise: What is Culture?". This White Paper looks at how we can "see" our organisations culture and whether it can be changed.
Click here to read the full White Paper...