Too much is talked about, but little seems to be in action. Yes, it is about organizational culture that has become a buzzword. Those, who understand and realise that it is the lifeline of any organization and has to be vibrant and happening, consistently work to strengthen and nurture it on all fronts.
Having values descriptions/announcements on office walls and posters is one thing, but living by those values and convictions is something else. This is called culture in action. But how is such an environment built where employees feel motivated and empowered to give their best and share a common purpose? There are inbuilt self-contradictions and challenges in putting a culture into action. Without understanding and resolving those conflicts, though, we may have a work culture that will not turn into a happening place.
Culture in action is understood as having a high level of employee engagement, empowerment, high retention, and high motivation, but when you quietly make an incision, you find something very conflicting. For example, what we say in the town hall, Policies, processes, we act quite the opposite on the ground. This is the dark side of culture, which we either ignore to see or simply allow to proliferate. This silent gap between announced values and actual practices is no less than a slow poison that kills the heart and soul of the organisation.
Intentional twisting of values for personal gains, humiliating or insulting the subordinate publicly in the name of transparent feedback, practicing exclusion in the name of diversity and inclusion, using meetings to convey one way distract in the name of open discussion, avoiding conflict and pushing everyone in to a constant comfort zone in the name of psychological safety, hiding uncertainty or ignorance of leadership in the name of leadership intellectuality and inducting the persons that fits in to your culture not having resilience or adaptability to mold self to fit in to the culture are the real challenges. This results in weaponzing the culture that seems in action but infact erodes trust, stifles creativity, and demotivates employees, and turns into a toxic culture where everybody is after someone to wipe them out for their survival.
About these challenges, not only HR but also business leaders need to be aware of and address them to align their actions with stated values to keep the culture in motion.
This edition’s cover story is an attempt to understand and identify the elements that put the organizational culture into action and making an inspiring workplace. The fresh insights provided by revered HR practitioners and management thinkers bring high value and provide a different perspective.
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