A culture change isn’t any different than other change initiative and benefits from involving the entire organization in the conversation – defining, designing and making change. How can you get your entire system involved?
- Town Hall Meetings
- Surveys
- Focus Groups
- Task Forces
- Departments/Teams
Once you have a clear and finely crafted vision of what you want your culture to be and why it’s important, your people, those who live your culture every day, are the best suited to find the gaps, the inconsistencies and reimagine the future.
As a leader, brace yourself. You need to be completely committed to the vision and the tough decisions that come with turning or re-routing a ship. The journey won’t be easy but if you truly believe in your vision and the impact and experience that you want to create, then surround yourself with those who also believe. They can help support and keep you focused on the difficult days and around the difficult decisions.
Change will take time. Stay the course. Keep reminders front and center. And above all else, make sure people are being held accountable. Be clear with expectations and clear with accountability. There may be difficult decisions needing to be made if a strong employee isn’t nurturing the culture you want to create. Some times it is discovered that an employee no longer fits the culture you need/want to create. You need to be ready, watching and willing to take action. If there is inaction, the culture will not change. These vision will not be realized. Your employees will not experience the value and benefit that you imagined.
Settle in and enjoy the vision of what you are about to create!