I have enjoyed a lot of wonderful breakfast, lunches and dinners with many different people over the last six months. These times together include some deep listening and very good sharing. Our visits have been interesting and insightful. Now is the time for me to share what I have learned with all of you.
We were at a really good burger place a couple of months ago. The food was good and the conversation was lively when I asked the following question: “What are your expectations of your direct reports?”
He paused in between bites and said, “Good question. My expectations for my direct reports are to drive performance metrics, and to keep me informed of what I should know.”
I thought for a moment and then said, “Metrics are an outcome. They are the result of people making the right choices. The challenge for someone in a leadership position is to recognize that behavior problems almost always precedes quantitative results, according to Patrick Lencioni in his book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (Jossey-Bass, 2012). Furthermore, behavioral problems occur long before any decrease in measurable results is apparent.
So, what is the culture or behaviors that would produce those desired results?What is the mindset where everyone makes the right choices?”
You could just see the wheels turning inside his head as he explored the question. After a couple of moments, he responded, “I want everyone focused, doing the right things at the right time and for the right reasons.”
“Good answer,” I commented. “Now, let’s talk about that ….”
Our challenge as leaders is to recognize that organizational culture reflects a set of behavioral norms. Sometimes we agree to them, and sometimes we are not aware of them. For us here today, we need to remember that about 80% of the staff report to a front line supervisor, and about 80% of the staff work side by side with a small group of co-workers. For these particular staff, their front line supervisor and their co-workers, not you as a senior leader, are their world. For them, these relationships are “the company culture”
I believe there are four levels of organizational culture. The first is interpersonal culture which reflects peer to peer relationships. The second is operational culture which reflects the health of the employee to supervisor relationship. The third is strategic culture which reflects the relationship between the supervisor and the senior team. The fourth level is organizational culture which is the sum of all the relationships, i.e. the company as a whole.
What I have learned over the last six months is that we need to focus on improving the interpersonal culture level and the operational culture level. When people think and act clearly at these two levels, then people do the right things for the right reasons at the right time.
This week, reflect on what you are and are not doing to improve interpersonal and operational culture. It is time more people are making better choices and creating better outcomes.
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