David Byrum had his opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald, reflecting on the mistaken belief that aggressive cultures drive performance.


"Is the motivation within Cricket Australia to change its culture greater than the forces that maintain the status quo, which is purely focused on winning at all costs? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, it’s important to reflect on the mistaken belief that aggressive cultures drive performance; on and off the field. They don’t – at least not over the long term.

Aggressive cultures are ones where people control, dominate, compete internally to stand out above their teammates – basically: where the ends justify the means. In sport, where individual players must work together to score points, make runs or get others out, an aggressive culture puts the team at a disadvantage.

In organised groups, in sport or in corporate Australia, when we lose, we do an internal review, usually multiple reviews when on a losing streak. That’s what happened with the Argus review in 2011. But typically, the result of these reviews is to change process after process in terms of preparation, rethinking strategy or, in the case of sport, resting players. These reviews do not look at the culture or the leadership  and so they perpetuate the culture.

Continue reading... "
 

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Learn more from our Culture Bites Podcast;

012: How Culture Works Pt1 – Overview
013: How Culture Works Pt2 – Mission, Philosophy, Structures
014: How Culture Works Pt3 – HR Systems
015: How Culture Works Pt4 – Job Design
016: How Culture Works Pt5 – Leadership