{"id":35193,"date":"2024-01-24T16:22:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35193"},"modified":"2024-01-24T16:22:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:22:57","slug":"culture-it-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/culture-it-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Culture….It Matters!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Defining Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

I read a book about 20 years ago for one of my Graduate Programs. The book, Culture Matters<\/em>, is a collection of essays written by social scientists, scholars, journalists, and practitioners. I read it from cover to cover, long before inspectional reading was introduced to me. It is worth mentioning that it was this book that first introduced me to Francis Fukuyama and his thoughts on Social Capital. This was two decades before he wrote Identity. I have returned to Culture Matters<\/em> on many occasions, including this one because, in my opinion, it provides the best definition\/explanation of culture. In Chapter 11, Thomas S. Weisner writes, \u201cCultural beliefs and practices are tools for adaptation, not simply fixed patterns that determine institutions. Culture is a mix of shared values and beliefs, activities organized in daily routines of life, and interactional experiences that have emotional meaning.\u201d(1) This the most comprehensive definition that I have come across. Culture and the nuances of how it impacts the environment is currently at the forefront of my mind. When deciding what section of Rethinking Leadership<\/em> that I would direct my focus for this blog, I was also facing a dilemma with my current staff that I believe stems from diverse cultural beliefs intersecting with a fixed organizational culture. I spent the greater part of my morning trying to sift through it all while also taking an honest look at what is actually possible in this unique workspace. I naturally gravitated to Chapter 5, the section on Leadership and Culture, hoping to find the inspiration for this blog but also some answers to aid in my leadership of this complex organization. Annabel Beerel states, \u201cWithout the support of the organization\u2019s culture, all efforts at change are frankly going nowhere.\u201d(2) This is exactly what my leadership team is facing, there is a lack of support because there is a disconnect between the organizational culture and the staff. There is also a lack of support for the respective cultures of the people that comprise the organization. Two separate issues both relate to culture and change, and both require a targeted strategy to resolve.<\/p>\n

Leadership and Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCulture is the embodied values, principles, and practices underlying the social fabric of an organization. Culture underpins the organization\u2019s actions and reactions and connects stakeholders to each other and to the company\u2019s purpose and processes. Culture is the glue that holds an organization together and unties people around shared assumptions, beliefs, and practices.\u201d(3)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nOver the last 8 months, I have thought a great deal about the culture of our staff, the organizational culture, and my own cultural beliefs in hopes of identifying a path forward. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I serve as Interim CEO of an organization. I understand that \u201cwhen it comes to dealing with new realities, initiating change, or responding to critical events, many leaders underestimate and even neglect the influence of culture.\u201d(4) I also understand that my ability to grow and stretch is important to my development as a leader. Beerel states, \u201cEffective leaders are always striving to stretch their consciousness and transform themselves.\u201d(5) As I continue to serve in a role that was originally contracted for 90 days, 8 months later I am interacting with staff that are growing weary of the interim status of my leadership role and desperately desire some permanency. Not just in leadership positions but in commitment to their growth and development. We have over utilized the phrase, \u201clet\u2019s leave that decision for the new CEO!\u201d Truthfully, that is all that I have to give them on some days as there are limits to my authority. They desire and deserve a leader that can plan, execute, and evaluate and there are barriers that affect my ability to be that type of leader.<\/p>\n

\nChanging Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nWhat I may not have mentioned is that the Founder is still very much a part of the decision making and is also the Board Chair. Although the organizational culture is shaped by leadership, there are factors that can complicate the process. The culture of the organization, in this instance, is set by the Founder. Beerel writes, \u201cWho shapes the culture of the organization? Everyone, yet none more so than the CEO and his or her senior leadership team. If the CEO is also the founder of the organization, his or her values will pay an even more significant role.\u201d(6) The leadership must be committed to moving the culture forward in a way that upholds the values of the organization and honors the respective cultures of the team. This commitment must be deliberate and consistent. Beerel affirms, \u201cA deliberate practice includes the elements of stretching oneself to higher goals, experiencing new mental demands, and receiving and being open to repeated feedback.\u201d(7) Yet what if the organizational leadership does not want to stretch to achieve growth. And while this book provided helpful insight and practice(s), I still have more questions. The timing of reading this book and my work dilemma may have given me unrealistic expectations of finding immediate solutions. I am going to take a deep breath in, exhale out, pray, and get back to work exploring ways to make my interim role feel less temporary to my team. \u201cWhat differentiates leaders is their commitment to practice.\u201d(8) I remain committed!<\/p>\n

[1] 1. Lawrence E. Harrison, Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress<\/em> (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2000), 142.<\/p>\n

[2] Annabel C. Beerel, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories<\/em> (New York, NY: Routledge, 2021), 126.<\/p>\n

[3] Ibid., 126.<\/p>\n

[4] Ibid., 126.<\/p>\n

[5] Ibid., 130.<\/p>\n

[6] Ibid., 127.<\/p>\n

[7] Ibid., 129.<\/p>\n

[8] Ibid., 129.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Defining Culture I read a book about 20 years ago for one of my Graduate Programs. The book, Culture Matters, is a collection of essays written by social scientists, scholars, journalists, and practitioners. I read it from cover to cover, long before inspectional reading was introduced to me. It is worth mentioning that it was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[2977,3015,2489,3014],"class_list":["post-35193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-beerel","tag-culturematters","tag-dlgp02","tag-harrison","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35194,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35193\/revisions\/35194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}