Reboot, rebuild, reset 2021
10%
of employees say they are regularly monitored for mental health and wellbeing
ALEX ARNOT is founder of MyNonExec and board adviser to more than 30 recruitment companies ⦁
How to think about culture in 2021 By Professor Damian Hughes ou already know that culture is the single most powerful force driving your group’s performance. The real question is, how does it work? How do you make your group’s culture better? How do you fix one that needs improving? The answer, as with so many other big questions, lies in the ‘how we think about it’. Traditionally, culture is seen as ‘the soft stuff ’ – a special set of characteristics that groups possess. The problem with this approach is: there’s no ‘how’. This is the reason why culture-building can often seem so
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mysterious and frustrating. There are no solutions, no plans and no process. There is a better way. It’s called a behavioural model of culture. Here’s how it works. Stop thinking in terms of ‘values’ and ‘mission’ and ‘competencies,’ and start thinking about your group’s culture as a continuous set of three fundamental signals: 1. Everyone knows how to behave – this ensures transparency and removes ambiguity 2. We measure and share accurate information about these behaviours – this provides us with a constant means of orientation 3. We do this with safety and respect – we address the behaviour and not the person. Seen through this lens, culture is not about soft stuff — it’s about behaviour. Your group’s culture doesn’t depend on who you are; it depends on what you do. Culture isn’t magic, it’s about tuning into a series of small moments that send powerful messages: we understand how to behave here; we are psychologically safe to make mistakes; we are headed in this direction.
Professor Damian Hughes is an international speaker and bestselling author
IM AG E S | S H U TTE R STO CK
business. This could be a better solution than losing them altogether. In return you can take an equity stake and charge a fee for the use of these facilities that can either build up against an increased equity stake in their company or that they pay back once they start making revenues. With 2021 likely being the year of the start-up – the timing for you to rethink could be right now.
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