Saturday Catch-Up: Changing Culture

Kerrie Smit
Jul 20, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Oct 4

Regular readers may have noticed a theme of cultural change in recent blog posts. This Saturday Catch-up: Changing Culture, we bring a few of these posts together to reflect on fostering an environment where adaptability and continuous improvement are ingrained in the organisational culture. Ensuring the values, beliefs, and behaviours of employees and leaders are in sync with the company’s strategic goals leads to a more cohesive and effective workforce. We also examine some unlikely ways to achieve sound change cultures, including introducing friction into processes and the essential role of tension.

Key Insights on Cultural Transformation

Creating a change-ready culture (21 March 2024) discussed how organisational transformation requires more than just reacting to external forces and having a great methodology. Best-practice organisations create a change-ready culture by embracing the process skills of change management and by focussing forward—on the future. Great change cultures understand that while the next change may be unknown, they can still be prepared to adopt it.
Cultural Alignment: Navigating Organisational Harmony (3 May 2024) explored why alignment within a great culture is essential for building exceptional products, services, and brands. A culture that encourages experimentation and risk-taking fuels innovation because aligned teams collaborate effectively, leading to improved performance and increased productivity.
Change through Organisational Culture and Harnessing Friction in Decision Making (18 July 2024) explored the idea that bringing together two seemingly paradoxical ideas—changing culture without changing it, and introducing friction to slow down decisions—can create a powerful synergy and help organisations achieve the agile change culture they strive for.
Change Management Untruths (19 July 2024) debunked the myths that seeking stability, greater control, and implementing quick fixes will lead to success. The journey of navigating change is not always straightforward; it comes with challenges, misconceptions, and untruths that ultimately can hinder progress.
Trust, Vision, Values and Tension (26 July 2024) discusses the intersection of personal integrity, leadership, and organisational values. It explores how the discomfort of tension between these elements can actually create a catalyst for change and growth, ensuring that cultural norms and cultural change alike are built on strong foundations.