All organizations develop a distinct culture–a way of behaving–that drives results, for better or for worse.
As management and leadership guru Peter Drucker famously observed, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”.
Said another way, the results of an organization are a direct outcome of the unseen culture that governs behavior. Culture is not ping-pong tables, birthday parties, and holiday celebrations. Culture is how we show up, how decisions are made, how conflict is resolved, how performance is discussed, how goals are set, how success and failure are handled, and much more.
Culture is what it feels like to work here. Culture has a reciprocal relationship with the individuals working within it. Each individual contributes to the overall culture, and individuals within an organization are directly impacted by the culture. Ultimately, culture is shaped by those who hold responsibility for the outcomes of the organization, the leaders. No matter what our role, if we don’t like a particular culture, we must look in the mirror.
Have you noticed signs of unhealthy culture in your organization? Symptoms will invariably include burnout, turnover, vision/mission drift, paralyzing fear, and more. The Bible implores us to avoid those destructive behaviors that can easily show up in a group or team dynamics:
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence].”
Eph 4:31 (AMP)
By contrast, healthy cultures are marked by risk-taking, transparency, and capacities for joy, creativity, fun, healthy conflict, and much more. Thankfully, like individual soul health, the health of a culture can absolutely be assessed and improved upon with focus, intentionality, and effort.
Soul Care’s team works to listen deeply and come alongside leaders like you to craft targeted investments into teams and organizations. We are proud to stand and serve alongside courageous leaders who have made improving their culture a top priority.
If you are a leader within an organization who is looking to support healthy culture, we would love to come alongside you as well! To learn how we might support you, please fill out our questionnaire so we can begin that conversation with you as well. We look forward to journeying with you.
When you click on the link below, we have created a free private small group of leaders within organizations to create community and get to know one another. We encourage you to utilize this space and connect with your peers!
Lead on,
Team Soul Care
PS: What’s one way you can resolve to show up in kindness, strength, and joy to your organization today?
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