Why culture eats strategy for breakfast

Why we have an issue Houston

Imagine that you needed to change the alignment of the iron filings around this magnet. Changing one-at-a-time would be time-consuming, and if you dragged them out of position without allowing for the magnet they'd soon snap back.

Failing to allow for the field would make it time-consuming and fruitless. Culture is essentially magnetic. Not poster-culture, the real one as defined by the behaviours we really see - the ones that are 'ok' and 'how we do things around here'.

These are ingrained ways of collaborating and working that we've become comfortable with.

Now, another word for culture is context - and an attempt to run a strategy without accounting for the context of the organisation is inherently flawed. People will only change to the extent that the context permits - and a coalition of the willing backed by strong leadership is required.

Fail to allow for this context and action and your strategy will not survive it's encounter with the organisation; not matter how well intentioned. 

Surviving contact with the organisation

First we need to confront the reality of 'how we work around here' and use it to drive change - it's a pretty powerful engine to aid change too, if used correctly.

Next, identify who really has influence in the areas that need to change - who does everyone go to for answers / insights? The answer may surprise you. Make an ally out of them towards the desired change

Lastly, ask their advice - inclusion is a powerful way of changing context - not just what needs to change but the way in which it can be changed successfully, from where you currently are.



 

The ‘leading’ edge – attitude trumps skills

Of course we must develop leaders. After all, we’ve evolved to be strongly responsive to the context we’re in, and thereby people who can shape that context have a tremendous influence on us.

But given the state of leadership across the globe and decades of developing it, it’s clear that most leadership training is ineffective.

In a recent conversation with Charlie Pellerin, NASA’s former director of Astrophysics and the author of How NASA Builds Teams (life changing book!) he highlighted to me what’s wrong – most leadership training develops the wrong thing.

Let me show you why...

·         Think of someone you admire as a leader (from any walk of life)

·         Write down 4-5 qualities that make them a leader in your eyes

·         Now circle each quality if it is more about an attitude than a skill

... did you circle most as ‘attitudinal’? In fact, most things we call out as leadership qualities are attitudes.

Here’s the root cause - we train leadership skills, not attitudes.

Of course such skills (clear communication, emotional control, etc) are necessary but they are not sufficient; it’s your attitude that counts with others the most.

Raise leadership by focussing less on the leading skills and more on how your attitude is perceived.