Organizational culture is like the wind. It is invisible, yet its effect can be seen and felt
When the organizational wind is blowing in the right direction, it makes for smooth sailing. When it is blowing the wrong direction, everything is more difficult.
Organizational change is hard. One big reason is that old habits are stubborn. The adage “old habits die hard” couldn’t be truer.
But today’s organizations need to be agile and change-ready in a constant changing business environment.
When the organizational wind is blowing in the wrong direction
For organizations seeking to become more adaptive and innovative, culture change is often the most challenging part of the transformation.
Innovation and technology disruption demands new behaviors from leaders and employees that are often contrary to corporate cultures, which are historically focused on operational excellence and efficiency.
An agile or change-ready organization is able to quickly adapt to changing circumstances – it is ready for anything. But companies can’t drive agility with inspiring words from the top. Instead they need to build an environment that encourages action from the bottom up. Making sure that the wind blows in the right direction for smooth sailing.
Although circumstances often change in the blink of an eye, organizations tend to change at a slower pace. Change doesn’t happen overnight – so be patient!
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Organizational culture is like the wind — https://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/aak
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Glad to see you using a new metaphor. I’ve always found the iceberg metaphor to be in appropriate. I notice that Schein is now using a lily pond metaphor to get to some of the same ideas about not seeing what’s below the surface. Wind works much better to me because you can feel the pressure/strength of the wind but at the same time it can’t be grasped, not entirely tangible. And like a river you can’t put your foot in it twice because while the river is constant, the water is always changing – also, you’ve been changed by the fact of putting your foot in the water the first time.