"DOES CULTURE REALLY MATTER?!" | Culture & Guiding Principles | 3.03
LISTEN TO LEARN | Culture & Guiding Principles | LBFF 3.03
You may be thinking, “Do Culture & Guiding Principles really matter?” Many groups/Companies hire consultants to build the business culture that will drive the behaviors they want. Hopefully, CULTURE & GUIDING PRINCIPLES Will be considered the most important things the group/company can establish. What Do you think?
Listen to find out why I believe Culture & Guiding Principles are the most important things we can set in place!
WATCH TO TRY | "Culture & Guiding Principles" with Ken Snyder | LBTT 3.03
should we set our CULTURE & GUIDING PRINCIPLES Before rolling out Lean? Is there “one right Way” to set Behavioral expectations of the team? Do you need a consultant to create the right culture & Guiding Principles? Watch our latest interview with Ken Snyder, the Executive Director of the Shingo Institute. Ken shares his experiences with Setting Culture & Guiding Principles for various industries in the professional world. He also shares his personal experiences and opinions on helping teams through torrential storms…Watch to Learn More!
READ TO APPLY | Culture & Guiding Principles | LBCC 3.03
I Believe if we want or expect certain outcomes, we need to Communicate why our expectations are what they are and how we will get there. Culture & Guiding Principles are “the Why” for the Behavioral Outcomes we want. What’s your experience? Is our personal life much different?
The WHY: whenever “the why” is not communicated well, I see individuals and teams struggle. We all need to be needed and search for our purpose in life and in business. In business, “the Why” is often communicated as a Vision or Mission Statement; Providing teams and individuals the reason behind what they do. In our personal lives, its the messaging we tell ourselves and our families for why we are important or needed. We cannot expect certain behavioral outcomes if we did not start with our definition of “The Why”…If we don’t communicate “the Why” one will be created for us that is outside of our control. The point is…We can control the messaging…
The WIIFM: If we understand “The Why”, we will better understand how we fit in. We see our purpose and impact. We become part of the “Culture”. We live by “Guiding Principles” because we understand why we BELONG. All humans strive for belonging.
my Advice: “First, Be wise and deliberate about the culture you are trying to build”. Once you understand the culture or environment you want to build, the Guiding Principles will be easier to establish. why? Because Guiding Principles are short action-driven statements of expected behavior. They provide more definition around the Culture you want.
LEAN LEADERS: Encourage the team to start with “The Why” before establishing “The How”. As humans, we always try to jump to solutions. It will be your job as facilitators to allow the team to struggle a bit with “the Why”. This struggle will help the team thoroughly define their Behavioral Outcome expectations: The Culture they want. Once they understand the culture they want, then “The How” can be worked on through goals and Metrics. We will save “The How” for a later discussion…
- PERSONALLY: Culture & Guiding Principles are less formal on a personal level. Often times, these are driven by preferences on morality, tradition, or religious belief systems. Parents establish Expected behaviors through the development of their children. Families without children may establish them through agreement between partners. Having been single most of my life, roommates can agree on the management of their shared living space. in all of these examples, each circumstance is setting the standard of behavior or the Culture for the circumstance they live in. They first establish “The Why” of behavior for their circumstance. “The Why” most often is based in what they expect to feel at home: comfort level, safety, acceptance, allowing for being who they are, etc.
- PROFESSIONALLY: Culture & Guiding Principles are more formalized. Sometimes these are established with a changeover in Management/Leadership or reinforced during an annual process like Hoshin Kanri, Policy Deployment, or Strategy Deployment (“The How”). No matter how they are established/Reinforced, successful companies start first with Culture & Guiding Principles (“The Why”) and then reinforce through clear goals and metrics (“The How”). I recommend keeping Guiding Principles to no more than 10 short, action-driven statements (“Leaders Are Mentors”). Please keep in mind, culture & Guiding Principles are the desired behavioral outcomes or “feelings” of an organization. These rarely dramatically change.
Culture & guiding principles, once defined, very rarely change. They provide the constancy of purpose for the organization. They work more like a compass always pointing north. A compass does not tell us “the how” we are going to get to the final destination, no. They provide the constant direction for movement. The culture of the organization will continue to thrive when they are regularly talked about or referred to. Culture change is never easy. Taking a disciplined approach to struggle with and communicate “The Why”, will lead to well-defined Guiding Principles for the family/Team to Follow. If communicated well, you will see the team start to self-manage behavior, holding others accountable to all behavioral expectations.
If you or your organization are wanting to establish Culture & Guiding Principles, Leanbrella can help! Starting with our Culture Climate (RealColors.org) process will help your teams understand themselves and those they interact with better. We cannot hold ourselves and others accountable to behavioral expectations without knowing ourselves or our teams…Contact us today to find out more!