“CEOs know they need to keep their companies nimble, able to anticipate and quickly adapt to change, and to pivot in response to industry shifts without having to rebuild culture from scratch.”
That’s the challenge, the summary copy for a Chief Executive article titled “How Agile Are You When it Comes to Talent?” The article concentrates on agility how to find the right people and then equip them to “pivot” the company in response to change while maintaining the culture.
First things first
The article assumes that the culture is clearly defined and that all you need to do is put systems in place to hire, equip, and enable agile leaders. That’s starting at step two. Before you do that hiring, equipping, and enabling you need to know what your culture is.
Define your culture so you can maintain it
The classic, Marvin Bower, definition of culture is “the way we do things around here.” The key word is “do,” not “believe” and not “understand.” Only actions matter. Define how you expect people to act and you define culture.
Leadership development and culture
You want your leaders to model and enforce your culture. So leadership development starts with hiring people whose personal values (as shown by their actions) match your organizational values. Then you develop those people.
Your leadership development program should be your primary carrier of culture. Include stories of culture heroes in your leadership development events. Make sure the people who lead your leadership development program model and enforce the actions that define your culture. Then turn your leaders loose to model and enforce the culture where they work every day.
