CultureUniversity.com is the premier workplace culture educational blog with a mission of positively impacting society on a global scale through workplace culture awareness, education, and action.
The following posts had the highest traffic on CultureU in 2015:
#10 – Can We Reverse the Decline in Trust?
By Edward Marshall
Say it ain’t so! This post starts with an interesting but sad point that “distrust is the new normal”. Fear is unfortunately a greater driver of behavior than trust in many organizations. Leaders need to emphasize collaborative leadership and learn five key elements of trust to transform their cultures to trust-based, collaborative enterprises.
#9 – Goodbye Mission Statement. Hello Manifesto.
By John Bell
“The outcomes of mission statements and manifestos are miles apart.” A purpose or mission statement might be a good start but learn the six critical components of a potent manifesto.
#8 – 8 Ways to Effectively Communicate Your Culture to Your People
By Laura Hamill
How do you manage and communicate your culture? Laura shares ways to intentionally shape your norms, values, and beliefs in order to positively impact the workplace culture.
#7 – What Employees Really Want (and How To Give It To Them)
By Jacob Shriar
Jacob takes an interesting angle in this post to define what employees “really” want and then shares how to give it to them. Engagement can’t be an afterthought anymore.
#6 – The quickest way to find out what’s really valued (and how to change it)
By Carolyn Taylor
Where can we make the most visible day-to-day decisions to reflect our values? This post takes things a step further with additional insights about taking action as an individual and as a team.
#5 – Stop Trying to Motivate Your Employees – and What To Try Instead
By Jon Robinson
A thriving workplace culture is at the foundation of motivation and success in organizations. Learn 14 characteristics to determine if your workplace is thriving.
#4 – The Art of Leadership and Riding a Bicycle
By Tom Crane
The bicycle image in this post was shared like crazy on social media! Tom breaks down this bicycle metaphor into critical components for leadership and explains why “you need it all!”
#3 – Five ways to embed a culture of happiness
By Nic Marks
Happiness is a subject that’s just as misunderstood as culture. Nic is surprised by how watered down and insincere happiness can be when applied in the workplace. Learn more about the focus points needed to embed a culture of happiness.
#2 – 12 culture change insights from a workplace culture consulting legend – Larry Senn
By Tim Kuppler
Larry Senn has arguably been a part of more large-scale culture transformations than any other individual in the world. He’s the founder and chairman of the culture-shaping firm Senn Delaney, a Heidrick & Struggles company. He’s the most inspiring and passionate culture expert I have met. I strongly encourage you to review the 12 insights and the complete video interview.
#1 – Workplace Culture vs. Climate – why most focus on climate and may suffer for it
By Tim Kuppler
Interest in the subject of culture is growing but there’s tremendous misinformation about what culture is and how to nurture and/or evolve it effectively. Learn how to tell the difference between culture and climate, and use both to increase effectiveness.
I’ll be honest with you. I am happy to see this specific post with the highest CultureU traffic in 2015 and it isn’t because I wrote it. It’s because it goes to the heart of why CultureUniversity.com exists. I spent 15 years as a top leader thinking I was dealing with true culture transformation and later realized most of it was dealing with climate. I am not alone so let’s accelerate your culture learning curve with this post and the content on CultureUniversity.com. The vast majority of “culture” research, assessments, books, blog posts, and other advice are actually focused on climate. Climate is VERY important but it’s critical to understand the underlying culture and fundamentals about culture change if you are interested in sustainable change.
Next year on CultureUniversity.com
2015 was a year of transition for CultureU. We launched the site in 2014 with support from Edgar Schein, Larry Senn, Richard Barrett, Alan Williams, Scott Beilke, Edward Marshall and others. We now have 38 culture experts and enthusiasts from across the world contributing their insights. Thank you to all the contributors, CultureU wouldn’t exist without your interest in sharing what you have learned. Thank you to Rob Cooke for supporting CultureU even though I transitioned to a role at Human Synergistics. Thank you to Kalani Iwi’ula for his excellent blog coordination and Jason Bowes for creating the weekly quote images. What will you see next year:
- Greater collaboration across authors and experts to bring clarity to the subject of culture: We can’t expect culture clarity to emerge organically in society if experts can get on the same page about culture and culture change fundamentals.
- Posts on solutions for common culture problems impacting many organizations: What’s the role of boards, CEO’s, leadership teams, front line supervisors and others in change efforts? How do you gain the involvement of key stakeholders and what do change efforts look like? What are common obstacles that emerge and how do you overcome them?
- Stories and examples of making an impact in society: Culture is critical in all types of organizations. How are organizations making an impact in their local communities and with problems in society related to education, government, healthcare and other areas?
- Announcements regarding partnerships and other collaborative efforts in the culture space: We need to accelerate our efforts to make a meaningful impact related to culture awareness, education, and action.
In short, we will be part of a movement to change the way the world thinks about culture and culture change. If you are interested in being part of this journey and contributing a post to CultureU, see our guest post guideline. One final “thank you” goes to all of our readers. Your feedback, questions, ideas, and sharing of content on social media are a major part of the journey.