Three Tools to Improving Organizational Culture
Nonprofits, and the country in general, are in the midst of great shifts, navigating uncertainty, and experiencing loss. While it may not feel like it, I believe this current climate is creating space for us to slow down, maybe start doing a little less, and be more intentional about where we put our time, energy, and resources. Stressful events, including onboarding new team members, can shine a light on practices and processes that are inefficient, ineffective, and unsustainable. One opportunity for progress, when the world feels hard, is improving our organizational culture at any and every level. Reimagining your internal processes and team expectations now, prepares your team to take action when the time comes. The success of our organizations relies on creating an environment that enables your team to do its very best work. While we may not have control over what’s happening on the outside world, we always have the option to create our desired internal culture – we have control over how our organization behaves. I’m sharing three tangible tools that, when put into practice, can begin the process of changing your organizational culture.
Organizational Values.
Organizational values are one of the most effective ways to create and manage your culture. To identify your values, consider - what drives the core of who you are as an organization? Answering this question should be a collaborative process that includes perspectives from the whole team – this means there is a time investment that is required to be effective. When you’re clear what your values are, articulate the behaviors that align with those values. These behaviors begin to give the team expectations of how to behave at work and can be a part of evaluating performance. It gives leaders a way to be fair when recognizing and rewarding team members for exemplifying the values in action. These values can also be used as you create and evaluate standard operating procedures. Doing so ensures that stakeholders and community members who interact with your organization experience who you are and what you’re able to do.
Enhance Your Communication.
Have you ever had an employee who is a rockstar performer who really struggles to get along with the team? Or a long-time employee who lashes out at others because they’re struggling with change? When I work with leaders with these types of employees, I have to recognize that they don’t have the language to communicate this issue and address it with their employee. Conscious Leadership is an approach that focuses on addressing the context of conversations and not just the content – that is, how are we feeling, what are we thinking, and are we aware of how it is affecting a conversation or environment? A simple tool from this approach that enhances communication is locating yourself “below or above the line.” When we’re “above the line,” we are informing those around us that we are open, curious, and willing to learn. When we’re “below the line,” we are fearful, cautious, and more likely to engage in drama. When our team uses this language we have greater awareness of how to engage with one another.
Sometimes we encounter team dysfunction because we’re talking and thinking about different things. The Six Thinking Hats tool can help ensure everyone is thinking and talking about the same thing, whether that’s ideas or risks that prevent success. Some team members are excellent critical thinkers but they can become “Debbie Downers” when we need to come up with ideas. Some people are really great dreamers but forget to base their ideas on facts/data or critically think about their ideas. We need all these different types of thinking and conversations – Six Thinking Hats can give space for each thought and keep everyone talking about the same thing.
Get to Know Ourselves and Each Other.
At the end of the day, we are all unique individuals who have learned different ways of engaging with the world around us. Getting to know your team members is important because you work with them day in and day out. You rely on each other to make your organization effective. This requires us to learn how to work with and be more accepting when people behave and think differently than you. In recent years, we have seen a shift in workplaces to honor this reality in a more tangible way. One tool that can help facilitate this desire is the Enneagram personality-typing system. This is one of the most useful personality-typing systems I have ever come across and has many layers to understand ourselves and others. Additionally, the Enneagram can be used alongside the Conscious Leadership approach, mentioned earlier. This type system acknowledges what fears and aspirations drive a person (i.e., success, competency, or joy/pleasure). We use the Enneagram at The Spark Mill and it allows us to talk about our strengths and challenges in more objective and understanding ways. Some types are known to thrive with clear guidelines and instructions; some types are known to overwork and overproduce; some types are energized by conflict while others avoid it by any means necessary. Some types have needs that will create tension with others types, but when know that, we can better navigate those tensions to keep working together. The Enneagram gives you the tools to focus on task conflicts (how we go about doing something), which is healthy, and stay out of relationship conflict (whether you like someone or not), which can be destructive.
All three tools I shared are opportunities to start addressing our internal culture so we can have a different, yet reliable, experience in our workplace and on our teams. They don’t solve the problem in and of itself, but give you language, process, and understanding to resolve problems at their root for good. Our team at The Spark Mill is able to support any team or organization that is interested in spending time investing in their internal culture. Let us know if you want to make that change happen.