The Manager 148 - Culture Change
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The Manager 148 - Culture Change
Hi,
I hope you are doing safe and well and looking forward to the week ahead.
I realised the other day that I haven’t shared anything “special” with you all for a while. After all, one of the perks of being a newsletter subscriber should be to get something special every so often, along with the weekly goodness that is this newsletter.
So, this week I’ve packaged up a presentation of culture change that I roll out EVERYWHERE when I’m working on culture change engagement (which is pretty much every one).
This deck is used with leaders and managers and brings together many of my own ideas, with some of those blended and mashed from my large amount of reading.
I tend to use examples, tell stories and explain the details when asked to. You see, all of this has been put into practice and I've found it works amazingly. Not every one of the recommendations will work but there are enough in there to suit most contexts and problems.
Free PDF version.
Actions speak louder than words.
If you’re considering change in an organisation, lead that change with action. Especially so if you’d tried change before, if people are fatigued by initiative after initiative, if people have tried to embrace change before but gotten nowhere. They will be tired of change - and the chances are, they won’t believe you when you say it will be different this time.
It’s disheartening though to see so many companies worrying about the change they want, creating new posters with their values on, sharing strategies and tactics for change, creating new handbooks, publishing new internet sites and not focusing on actually changing behaviours. Employees have seen this sort of "broadcast" change before.
You can keep creating new communications about change for hours, days, weeks and years but people will stop believing it unless they see managers and leaders changing.
In fact, in one company I worked within, I wandered the giant head office looking for people actually doing the work for their customers. 600+ people and all they were doing was producing slide decks, posters, handbooks, logos and pretty diagrams - all about the change they were seeking to bring. Change is never done through these materials alone. They can help and support but not if people don’t change - and that’s more effective when it starts with leaders and managers. After all, we should never ask people to behave at a higher standard than we are.
Change is lagging, it emerges from the interactions and behaviours of the people in the business, not from posters and handbooks. So, if you really want change in your company - draw a circle around yourself and look for behavioural changes there first. Lead the change. Fix the system. Care for people. Communicate with clarity and honesty. Listen. Learn. Or whatever else is needed to show people the change you wish to seek.
Actions speak much louder than words.
Things I’ve found interesting on the web this week:
Seth Godin on the differences between strategies and tactics and why we get drawn into tactics and sometimes fail to even set a strategy.
As adults we can often find it harder to build friendships. Here's some solid advice on how to build friendships that last.
I've rejected advice before - sometimes solid, reasonable and useful advice from someone I trust. After all, it depends who's giving it. This article is helpful for those who often reject advice - and how you can get better at accepting it (from someone you trust).
In every company I consult in there are people avoiding having hard conversations. Here's some advice on how to lean into those essential conversations.
How to achieve sustainable remote work.
Does your company need a digital nomad policy?
Until next week
Rob..
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Thanks
Rob..