INFLUENCING CULTURE | LBCC 3.01

I believe that Lean expands the mindset of traditional management systems making it more inclusive of all individuals. Without the right culture as a foundation for problem solving, the business will always struggle to permanently change the way they work and interact with each other (Culture). What’s your experience? Is our personal life much different?

The WHY: we are surrounded with opportunities to influence culture…From our workplaces to our families and personal relationships. Is there one right way to influence culture? Should we be Lean Leaders? Or can you get the same result without lean?

The WIIFM: The more we understand the culture of our systems and our sphere of influence within those systems, the more we can control and encourage positive improvement and create an environment worth participating in.

my Advice: As a Lean Leader myself, I know that I directly impact the culture of the organization. If I didn’t ask the right questions and behave in an optimal way, my teams suffered and I had no positive influence over culture. My Advice: “seek first to understand”, if you do, your ability to influence culture in the right ways will expand and develop.

LEAN LEADERS: You will have great success at influencing the culture of the organization If you find Any Individual that has a desire to improve the way they work and how they interact with their peers, employees, and leadership. These individuals tend to put their pride aside for the betterment of their teams. They ask “WHY?” differently. They have the Lean spirit and mindset and are willing to try, try, try.

• PERSONALLY: Influencing Culture isn’t a common thing that is talked about in our personal lives…Let’s think about it more like Being teachable and “seeking first to understand”. These are some of the greatest traits of a Cultural Influencer. How are you emulating these qualities in your personal lives? Do you give people the space to learn from their mistakes? Do you learn from yours? I think these qualities are vital in today’s world. we need more patience and understanding regardless of Lean being the foundation. Do you think so too?
• PROFESSIONALLY: Influencing Culture is more about behavior than it is about the number of tools your know and can facilitate. Do you seek blame first? Not all individuals are able to Influence Culture. The ones who struggle most often are seeking power or are influenced by pride. How do you want to Influence Culture?

Culture change is never easy. Influencing culture is more than just learning how to be a good leader. It takes behavioral self awareness and a lot of patience for the people you interact with. if there is no understanding of culture, change will always fail. if my desire is to try, try, try and learn from mistakes; I’m headed in the right direction! That’s the Lean mindset needed for culture change to flourish. A Lean mindset teaches that failure is just an opportunity to learn and try again. The mindset earned through continuous process improvement and culture change really does change the individual and how they lead/Coach others. But first, pride MUST be set aside.

If you or your organization are wanting to learn how to influence culture, Leanbrella can help! by Starting with our Culture Climate (RealColors.org) first, the process will help your teams understand themselves and those they interact with better. We cannot influence culture if we do not know ourselves or our teams…Contact us today to find out more!