On Coaching for Culture
This article is in response to a blog on coaching leaders on corporate culture from the International Coaching Federation. The premise is that Executive Coaches should coach leaders to enable them to meet their responsibility to drive culture, and that is a gap in the exec coaching offering today. I wholly agree with this in so far that business culture has a profound impact on a company’s success and impact, as well as the motivation and satisfaction of employees in doing it. However, I think the premise of coaching leaders to change culture should go further. Culture is not something fixed and structured, but instead is a collective experience and belief and therefore needs understanding and connection to it, to influence it.
When thinking about culture in an organisational setting the following definition resonated with me most:
“the beliefs that people hold about reality, the norms that guide their behavior, the values that orient their moral commitments, or the symbols through which these beliefs, norms, and values are communicated.”
from Oxford Bibliographies
In modern, purpose-led companies, the business culture is often grounded in the founding principles or vision of the original founder or leader. Think of the almost ruthlessly simple, bold, perfectionist Steve Jobs creating a company where beauty and simplicity of design, the pursuit of the ultimate ease of use and performance is driven by a workforce of tremendous passion, creativity and single-minded focus on excellence. Or Walt Disney’s creative flair, belief in magic and innovative spirit that is the foundation for a powerhouse of content and experiences that delight millions, fuelled by creatives and visionaries. Or the relentless innovation of Bill Gates to create and dominate personal computing, which created one of the most dynamic, determined and dominant businesses of all time. These are but 3 examples of the many that no doubt spring to your mind where the spirit the company was forged in, as well as the personality of its founders, have left a profound mark on the business culture. Those early motivations established the foundation for how those businesses act today, through all organisational levels. If you look at more negative examples the loss of users and thought leadership, as well as the derision of Elon Musk’s Twitter, supports this point nicely. Culture in a company very often drives how the work is done, how goals are achieved, why people are attracted to work there. It’s almost always part of the very fabric of an organisation.
Culture is everywhere in a business: it’s the brand vision, how employees communicate, the hours worked, the policies and practices, the reputation. It’s the mindsets and behaviour of everyone in the business. In companies with a strong mission and purpose it can become both a powerful tool, or a barrier to success. In large companies culture is a unifying force across business units, countries and human culture by creating shared experience, values and norms of business behaviour.
The blog on the ICF website by Timothy Tiryaki persuades that Executive Coaches should coach for culture. He focuses on coaching leaders to integrate it into their focus and puts it on a level with strategic and influencing skills. He states “that culture is the leader’s responsibility” and here I must respectfully disagree, or at least expand on his point: having a culture focus is critical for any leader…but the leader cannot set the culture in isolation. A leader must understand the culture, the grassroots of it, how it influences how people act, think, make decisions, collaborate, how it sets the tone for innovation, appetite to change and progress. A leader should embody, role model and steward culture so they can inspire their team and the wider organistion to enable a positive culture in which to flourish. For a senior leadership to flourish they must have an aligned view of culture. These leaders will be more effective when they understand the culture and use it to guide their team toward the business goals.
A misalignment or immaturity in culture can stifle the success or forward momentum of an organisation. When the leader has a different view of culture than their team, a spectrum of challenges can occur. This can range from lower productivity while the team struggles to adjust to a different vision or way of working than that evidenced across the rest of the business, through to a toxic environment where politics and bad behaviour reign. A misaligned culture can result in feelings of uncertainty or fear of change. Sometimes the herd mentality takes over, and what could be a small difference in vision is perceived as ominous signs of change ahead. From there it's not a leap to concerns about reorganisation or structural changes looming on the horizon. When employees worry about change, it can lead to a downward productivity spiral. Where a leader comes into the business with little or a fundamentally different understanding of the existing culture, or a desire to change it, the journey to an aligned cultural vision is critical to ensure positive momentum for the business and the avoidance of a toxic culture. It is therefore not enough to decide to drive culture - a leader must understand the native culture, and either nurture and refine it with relationships grounded in trust and respect, or develop an informed change management plan which will resonate with the organisations current ways of working, mission and people. It is possible to change culture but it needs to be strategically done.
As Timothy Tiryaki asserts, culture is an aspect that may indeed be lacking in many executive coaching programs. I feel we must go further then simply coaching for culture: coaching leaders to understand it, and help them recognise where positive engagement will position them so they can actively influence culture. Executive coaches will have more impact if they teach leaders and senior leadership teams how to recognise native culture, understand its influences and how it manifests in the day-to-day behaviour and operations of their organisation. By understanding the existing culture of a business you will understand how it helps or hinders areas like operational efficiency, employee engagement, productivity and innovation. That can also be considered within the context of employer brand and the company's ability to hire and retain top talent and make a name for itself in customer excellence. Knowing how the culture works will help a leader to harness it for good.
We should also consider the impact of culture on the individual employee. Working within an organisation where your values, systems of belief, and principles resonate typically yields to higher work satisfaction and motivation in my experience. For many of my clients who experience stress, difficulty in business relationships, or poor performance, you can often chart this back to a fundamental misalignment between their beliefs and the company’s. In these cases often no one is happy: the employer with their employee’s contribution or the employee with feelings of ineffectiveness, frustration or lack of recognition. Coaching can sometimes help to improve behaviours or build a more harmonious working situation, but in many cases when the cultural fit is not right there is little that can be done to make that a totally successful relationship. When cultures clash in our personal lives we usually resolve that by removing ourselves from the situation. This is how communities of like-minded people form. Where there is a cultural mismatch in a professional context it should be seen as a realistic and responsible option to consider a parting of ways with no hard feelings. Sometimes the fundamental things that we believe mean a particular environment is just not the right one in which to thrive.
Culture is a foundational force and should always be considered when coaching individuals. Likewise, how different people perceive and experience a work culture can alter team dynamics. In team coaching the cultural dimension should also be explored. Where a leader can really make a difference with culture is driving an aligned vision, and harnessing the benefits of how that culture supports the business goals. And that starts with understanding, engagement and a leadership approach that uses culture as the powerful force it is. Not one where the leader dictates what culture should be. Culture is organic, dynamic and powerful so understanding it and connecting with it will truly empower the leader.