Turning The Cultural Oil Tanker

Articles about the dangers of alcohol have become omnipresent. As one who would like to avoid dementia yet also loves a glass (or two, or three) of wine each evening, I have found myself torn about whether or not to abstain. 

A few years ago, I decided that I should drink less and found it challenging. Recently, however, a number of my friends have started to abstain, and miraculously I have found drinking less substantially easier.  I wondered why.

I was recently leading a workshop with a leadership team when one member asked me to define culture. I stole Seth Godin’s definition: “People like us do things like this.” The definition may seem simplistic, but I find it amazingly powerful. 

It is easier for me to drink less because now people like me (my friends) are doing this (drinking less). That new found ease illustrated the power of culture. 

The leadership team member who asked me the question was concerned about certain aspects of the school’s current culture. The team wanted to look hard at the current culture and try to change the less savory aspects of it. This is important strategic work. 

The first step in this work is to truly understand the current culture.  This can be challenging because culture is what people actually do, not what they claim they do. An audit of a school’s culture requires a careful look at current behaviors. For example, you can claim that your culture rewards promptness, but if you wait for the last person to arrive before you start meetings, your culture is actually one that rewards tardiness (or maybe one that prioritizes inclusiveness over promptness).

Understanding your culture easier than actually trying to change it. 

In order for this leadership team to catalyze cultural change they must: 

• Be clear about what the new culture should look like.

• Ensure every leadership team member is embodying the new cultural norms.

• Communicate the current culture (using concrete examples), the change you seek, and why this change will improve the school. 

• Communicate the desired change over and over. 

• Find some community members who currently personify the cultural values you seek and publicly compliment the behaviors that personify the culture.

• After the new norms have had time to be integrated into the culture, privately call out those folks not embodying the new culture.

A good test for whether the cultural changes have taken root is to ask new folks what they have experienced as that particular cultural norm. (Do you note meetings start on time, or do we wait for the last person to arrive?)

Changing culture is, as the expression goes, like turning an oil tanker. It takes lots of time, effort and intentionality. It can be done, however, and is worth doing.