Definition of Culture

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Definition of Culture

My definition keeps in mind your practical day-to-day needs as a leader: Execution / Organizational performance / and your Bottom line

Let me give you an example:

Imagine you spend one full week inside one organization – from Monday to Friday – and on Friday at 5:00 PM you conclude that for the most part, the prevalent decision-making style in this organization is team-based decision-making: The decision-making process is facilitated by the person responsible in each team – the boss, or the manager, or the CEO, etc. – where all the team members have an equal opportunity to participate in the decision-making process.

Then the following week, you spend it inside another organization – again, from Monday to Friday – and at the end of that week, on Friday afternoon, you conclude that for the most part, the prevalent decision-making style of this second organization is boss-driven decision-making: The bosses of their respective teams are the only people who participate in the decision-making process.

In these two organizations – considering specifically the decision-making process – we have two different ways of behaving, two different ways of doing things, two different patterns of behavior.

This is culture – “the way we do things around here”

Going back to my definition of culture: Culture equals “patters of behavior”

That’s it.

Note: Several authors use this definition of culture, for example:

It is true that the decorations of your building, the clothing of your employees, and even the paintings hanging on the walls, all form part of your organizational culture – but who cares about these artifacts from a “leadership” point of view?

I am talking about culture as a leadership tool, I am talking about building a sustainable competitive advantage, and I am talking about the bottom line.

In my definition of culture, the office kitchen’s decoration style, the way people dress inside your office, and even the jokes around the water cooler may or may not have an impact on organizational performance. But on the contrary, problem-solving, team effectiveness, performance management, etc., are vital human processes.

The same holds true for the rest of the organizational processes with a direct impact on performance: hiring, rewards and recognition, conflict management, etc.

The ensemble of management and leadership behaviors inside your organization make up the culture of your organization – this is what is important, vital, and relevant (not what type of china your employees use during lunchtime for example).

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The uses of Culture

In my definition of culture it is vital to know what culture is for.

According to John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett in “Corporate Culture and Performance” (The Free Press, New York, NY: 1992), organizational culture does three things:

Culture (1) aligns, (2) motivates, and (3) controls large groups of people – three tasks that are extremely difficult to accomplish by any means.

I repeat: You can use the culture of your organization to align, motivate, and control the entire workforce of your organization.

If you know how to use the culture of your organization, you will have a very practical, effective, and powerful leadership tool in your hands.

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Culture as a Leadership Tool

In my definition of culture it is key to know how to use it.

Why is it necessary that a leader know what the culture is and what it is for?

Think about it – what do you think is the answer?

Why would an organizational leader need to care about the definition of culture?

Before answering, here is another question to give you a clue:

What do you think is the most important ingredient in shaping the culture of an organization? Have you ever though about this?

The most important ingredient in shaping the culture of an organization is the behavior of its leaders.

If you are the CEO and you ask your organization for candor, if you ask your workforce to be frank in their day-to-day performance conversations, if you ask them for a truly open communication environment – but you don’t exhibit such behavior in your own daily manners and deeds, it is very unlikely that you will be able to create a culture of candor in your organization.

Fundamental in my definition of culture:

What culture do you truly want to create? Take a careful look at what I call the “Heart” and the “Muscle” of the organization in my Leadership Skills section.

The most powerful and easiest way to shape your organizational culture is through the Heart and Muscle of your organization – these (together with the Head of your organization) are the most influential leadership practices (human processes with the most impact on performance) inside your organization.

If you don’t purposefully create the culture of your organization, your organization will end up with a culture by default – rather than by design.

Remember this practical definition of culture: Culture equals patterns of behavior.

What patterns of behavior do you want to create? What patterns of behavior create the results you want to achieve?

Use this definition of culture to purposefully create the culture of your organization by design – not by default – to create the patterns of behavior that produce the results you truly want to achieve.

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If you would like your managers to learn out about my definition of culture through my speaking, training or consulting services, please click on this link.

To keep on learning about other useful management and leadership skills, go back to the previous page, or click here to continue reading.

To learn more about the skills you need to manage the performance of your direct reports, go to my Management Skills page.

To learn more about the skills you need to lead the performance of your entire organization, go to my Leadership Skills page.