Author: Allan Stewart

There is much confusion around the difference between organizational culture and organizational climate – and even more confusion around measuring them. Many assume that they are the same thing or at least very similar.

Organizational climate is easier to understand. Climate is usually split into two components: the work environment, and the feelings of the people in that environment. In the workplace, environment includes job design, HR systems, management practices, and company structures such as buildings and furniture. These components, plus how people feel about them, results in climate. A simple analogy for climate is the weather and how you feel about it.

There are thousands of climate surveys available, most of them “hand-made” by an internal HR manager or by a newly minted management consultant. Climate surveys include engagement surveys, satisfaction or opinion surveys, and their weaker cousins, pulse surveys. Most climate surveys are not tested for validity or reliability.

Organizational culture is vastly different from climate and is more difficult to understand. Dr. Rob Cooke of Human Synergistics International has described organizational culture as “the consciously-held notions shared by members that most directly influence their attitudes and behaviours.” He further explains that “these notions, technically called behavioural norms, describe the behaviours that all members understand that are expected of them.” (Human Synergistics OCI Interpretation & Development Guide)

Measuring culture requires a more sophisticated instrument. One has to determine whether or not people are expected to think and act for themselves or whether they are expected to wait for instructions – even if it never comes. Also, to accurately measure something as complex as culture, one must use an assessment that has proven validity and reliability.

The most important difference between Climate and Culture lies with what their surveys tell organizations, and what organizations can do with this information. What does each survey predict and how can organizations change their results?

Let’s suppose that it has snowed overnight. A Climate Survey would tell you that the ground is covered by a foot of snow, the temperature is -10° C, and two out of three people are upset. A Culture Survey measures what members of an organization are expected to do about the snow. Do they shovel the snow off the sidewalk and driveway? Do they wait until someone tells them when and how to shovel the snow? Or do they wait and see if the snow melts?

Merely knowing that it is cold and snowy doesn’t say much about how people are going to react or behave. Knowing that two-thirds of the people are upset does not predict whether people will clear any snow, nor the quality of any snow removal, if it even occurs. We might be able to link an increase in illness and turnover to the fact that two-thirds of the people are dissatisfied, but it would be dangerous to assume that their dissatisfaction is only caused by the snow and cold. 

If culture is accurately measured, however, not only can we predict the quality of the snow removal, we can also predict their level of engagement with the project. Measuring culture with a valid and reliable survey will enable you to predict employee engagement as well as service and product quality. Depending on the quality of the assessment, a good survey will also indicate some of the key levers for improving a culture, and by extension, improve employee engagement and service and product quality.

At best a Climate Survey can only predict outcomes such as sick pay, turnover, and grievances. But it cannot predict key quality or productivity outcomes. More importantly, a Climate Survey seldom provides or indicates strategies for change. Why, for example, will one organization have two-thirds of their members dissatisfied with snow, whereas another has only a five percent level of dissatisfaction with snow? Additionally, if the Climate Survey is too short or poorly constructed then it might not be measuring what it purports to measure (validity). In such cases, taking action based on the survey might be dangerous and unethical.

A Climate Survey such as Employee Engagement measures what employees can see around as well as people’s opinions or feelings about what they see. An accurate Employee Engagement survey can be linked to outcomes such as wellness and turnover. However, it is difficult to pinpoint causes of dissatisfaction measured by the survey – and more difficult to know how to fix these causes.

A Culture Survey measures what people believe they are expected to do in order to “fit in”. It measures members’ attitudes, values, and behaviors. As such, organizational culture is a strong predictor of employee engagement, product and service quality, and the long-term viability of the organization. Furthermore, the causes of culture are well known and can be clearly measured.

It is nice to know what your organizational climate is. But you need to know what your organizational culture is.

Happy New Year!

The start of a new year. This is a time when people look back at the previous twelve months with either nostalgia or sometimes regret and look forward to the upcoming year with hope. For many, that means setting resolutions or goals. Setting New Year’s Resolutions is indicative of the willingness of people to take more control of who they are and where they are going – in other words – become more achievement oriented.

So, why do most New Year’s Resolutions fail – and fail early?

Because setting resolutions or goals is only one aspect of achievement. There are four others that must be present before you can be completely achievement oriented and therefore, be motivated to making those resolutions stick. Two of these aspects are behavioural. But the most important are the three attitudinal attributes. Here are the five aspects of achievement-oriented people:

• Willingness to continually set challenging, but achievable goals.

  Achievement-oriented people not only set goals at the start of a year or a period in their life, but they continually set them throughout the year. They see an opportunity or dream of an outcome and they immediately convert it into a goal. Also, when they achieve a goal, they reward themselves and then set a new one.

• Willingness to take moderate, well-calculated risks.

  Most challenging goals require you to go outside your comfort zone and to take some risks. The willingness to take moderate risks is what sets most achievement-oriented people apart. In contrast, overly Competitive people take reckless, unnecessary risks and Conventional people never take a risk.

• Possessing a positive outlook of the past, present and future.

  This way of thinking exists in all achievement-oriented people. They learn from past mistakes (and never let those mistakes hold them back). They take time to enjoy the present – getting a great deal of satisfaction out of working on their current goals and jobs. And, they look forward to the future, knowing they can make it better.

• Believing that individual effort counts.

  Achievement-oriented people have a positive outlook on the present and future because they believe that their individual effort can make a difference. This is another fundamental thinking pattern of achievement-oriented people. It is also known as Locus of Control. Achievement people belief the Locus of Control for their lives comes from within themselves – not from external forces such as fate or luck.

• A commitment to making things better.

  Once people convince themselves that their effort counts, true achievement-oriented people commit themselves to making things better. They don’t ignore problems or potential problems. Achievement-oriented people are the ones who stop their car and move a piece of metal off the road. They are also the people who stop production when they see a faulty piece of equipment before it becomes a hazard. But beyond that, they are the ones who also stare at a normal situation and wonder, “how can I make that better?”

Becoming more achievement oriented requires not only a change in your behaviour, such as setting New Year’s Resolutions for yourself, but also a change in your attitudes or how you think about yourself and the environment around you. If you are having a difficult time deciding whether becoming more achievement oriented is worth it, consider these facts about Achievement Orientation:

• It is the easiest of the twelve Human Synergistics Circumplex styles to learn.

  Achievement thinking is the easiest to learn and adopt. It is the easiest style to teach to other people. It is also easy to teach children to be achievement oriented. It is sad to know that most successful parents tend to teach Perfectionism rather than Achievement.

• It is the one style that is most closely correlated to personal success and effectiveness.

  The LSI 360 not only asks respondents to describe someone else’s thinking styles (including Achievement), but also asks them to rate the person’s effectiveness. When we isolate the highest scores on effectiveness and create a composite profile, the highest style is Achievement.

• Achievement oriented people seldom achieved high marks in high school.

  A few years back, we gave the LSI (student edition) to a group of high school students. The student with the highest score in Achievement surprised the teacher because she was an average student (based on her marks). The teacher went on to describe a young lady who would rather work at two part-time jobs than work hard at moving up her project marks from a “B” to an “A”. Achievement is all about focusing on what is important for the individual to achieve their goals.

• Achievement oriented people enjoy challenging tasks.

  Achievement-oriented people typically enjoy themselves – they enjoy their jobs, and they enjoy doing other tasks. However, they are most happy when they are working on challenging tasks – especially if they set the challenge themselves.

• They strive for and usually attain high-quality results.

  This might seem like a given – after all, they do set attainable goals for themselves. So, it should not come as a surprise that they usually attain those goals. The difference is that achievement-oriented people never settle. Once they achieve a goal, they immediately set another stretch goal for themselves. One workshop facilitator I know set a new stretch goal for himself at the start of each of his first 20 workshops. That goal was to incorporate something into the workshop that would make it better than the previous one.

If you really want to change your life and your future – and stick to those New Year’s Resolutions, here are some simple strategies to becoming more achievement oriented:

• Strive for excellence in everything (Kaizen)

  Kaizen means constant improvement. Sometimes improvement comes in big leaps; but usually, improvement happens a little bit at a time. The key is to be committed to any type of improvement?

• Look for where your effort can make a measurable difference

  This is an important strategy to prove to the unbelievers that their effort makes a difference. Look for those opportunities. Often it requires looking at your environment differently.

• Make it a point to take calculated, moderate risks

  Achievement-oriented people are very good at doing risk analyses – conducting probabilities of success or failure and weighing the costs and benefits of each outcome.

• Focus on what is important to you

  Too often, people get too wrapped up in fulfilling other people’s agendas. While this an important part of being a good team player, it becomes easy to forget about your own dreams if you spend all of your time on someone else’s. The prophet Hillel said: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”

• Set SMART goals for yourself – write them down and keep them visible.

  The key to goal setting, is to write a SMART goals – which is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and with a Time parameter. There has been a lot of research that shows having your goals visible (either in a picture or writing) drastically increases the probability of achievement.

It is fun to set New Year’s Resolutions for ourselves. However, it is much more rewarding to set become achievement oriented and take control of our lives and our futures.

Looking for more? 

Get started on achieving your goals by using this helpful goal setting guide and printable. Print it out and fill it in in order to make your 2022 your best year yet! Make sure to keep it handy, as a visual cue to keep you on track. 

A letter from the President of Human Synergistics Canada

Season’s Greetings Everyone:

As 2021 winds to a close, I wanted to share my thoughts on the past year, as well as my hopes for the future. Now, more than any other time, we must continue to think and act in Constructive ways. For, it is only by continuing to control how we think and feel about ourselves, our relationships with others, and the tasks ahead of us can we emerge from this pandemic as strong (or stronger) than we were before.

1. Look for creative ways to solve the problems facing your business. Most of you have developed great online methods to hold virtual coaching, training & development. Some have revamped old, tired programs and dropped outdated assessments. Several have beefed up their teambuilding programs by incorporating the new online GSI. Others have realized that there has never been a more pressing need to assess and change an organization’s culture. The number of creative solutions to this crisis is limitless. (Self-Actualizing)
2. Continue to set new goals for yourself and help your clients do the same. I have been pleasantly surprised with how many of you have been able to convince your clients to still invest in training and development. This means that you have not given up – but realize individual effort counts. And those who understand this are making a difference. (Achievement)
3. Understand that many of your clients and colleagues are struggling in their efforts to try and navigate through this crisis. Now, more than ever, they need sage advice and trustworthy guidance. Remember that a third of your clients and colleagues will be feeling despair and helplessness, while another third will be angry and resentful. Both groups, more than ever before, need your help. I have always been impressed with the caliber of the consultants who work with us. Now is the time to use all of your skills to steer your clients through this mess. (Humanistic-Encouraging)
4. Our philosophy has always been that we view our clients as Partners – that our success is determined by their success. I invite you all to not only view us as your partners, but do the same with your clients. The more that we all work together the better we will be able to help your client organizations solve the problems facing them right now. (Affiliative)

As a final thought, please remember that one of Abraham Lincoln’s favourite sayings was; “This too shall pass.”

Take care and as much as you are able, enjoy this time with your family and friends.

Allan

In an industry saturated with any number of team building activities, the Human Synergistics Desert Survival Simulation™ is the single most popular training tool in the world. It has been used around the world in every possible industry for 50 years. The Subarctic Survival Simulation™ is a close second. Why are these and other survival simulations from Human Synergistics so popular among workshop and seminar leaders, as well as consultants and university professors? The simple answer is that they are fun! But there are more, complex reasons for their popularity.

One reason is that they are relatively easy to use and debrief. At the start of my career, many years ago, one of the first workshops I conducted was a teambuilding session, using Desert Survival. All of the participants in the room were more senior in the organization than I was. It would be an understatement to say that I was a little nervous. But the first part of the exercise practically runs itself. I was able to get through the first 90 minutes of the program, saying very few words. By the time it came for me to debrief the exercise, everyone in the room (including me) was relaxed and they were eager to hear my take on their group work.

When used with the Group Styles Inventory (GSI), participants leave with new teambuilding strategies that can be easily transferred to the workplace. The GSI (administered immediately after the teams’ meeting) measures the groups’ styles that enable or hinder the use of various problem-solving skills by the members. The GSI adds a layer of real learning outcomes to a fun activity.

1Another reason that they are so popular is that they teach valuable KSA’s to the participants. The Knowledge of how teams work, and the importance of effective teambuilding is invaluable. Participants also learn the skills of participation, listening, supporting and differing. By combining the simulation with GSI, teams learn about the valuable group Attitudes that influence members’ use of their teambuilding skills.

Survival Simulations tap into our primal survival instincts. We have all imagined ourselves in some difficult situation such as stuck in a snow storm or lost in the desert and wondered if we “have what it takes” to survive. This desire to test ourselves in a safe environment is another reason for the long-term popularity of the simulations.

Being able to survive in simulated, adverse conditions is a problem that is relatively neutral. We seldom see an expert in the group, and everyone knows something about the situation. Unlike many case studies and other workshop events, simulations allow all participants to engage on a level playing field.

Using a survival simulation with a GSI has an excellent Cost/Benefit ratio. The per participant costs are low and the benefits are extremely high. The workshop costs are also low, as the complete program, including new strategy development, can be accomplished in four hours.

And finally, the simulations are memorable. Over the years, I have participated in the facilitation of some very intensive week-long training sessions that taught a variety of leadership and management skills. Years later, when participants talk about the workshop, they always mention the survival simulation and how enjoyable it was.

There are two components to a great training session – Was it fun and enjoyable – and did the participants gain new Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes? By using a survival simulation, with GSI, you will score high in both areas. And, the program is easy to run.

So, do yourself a favour; and schedule a teambuilding workshop today. 

How Leaders Impact Culture

Over the years, one the questions that almost always comes up when starting to assess and change and organization’s culture is “What’s the best way to improve our culture quickly?”

While there is no ‘quick fix’ when it comes to long-term, sustainable culture change, there is one constant causal factor that always needs to be addressed in some way. That of course, is Leadership.

Many years ago, as a new department manager, I remember looking forward to conducting my first set of Performance Reviews. In hindsight, that performance review system was quite advanced and thorough. I spent many evenings diligently giving “scores” for each performance criteria.

We had to get the HR manager to review them prior to giving them. During this process, the HR manager questioned every score that was not a “three” (average). Because I had a lot, this took a long time. At the end of this process, I asked the HR manager how he would be able to find the time to do the same process with every department manager. His reply was that I was one of the few managers who did not give straight threes for every person in every category.

I was shocked. Didn’t the managers realize that by giving everyone a three they were missing an opportunity to help people improve their performance as well as recognizing and rewarding superior performance? But the problem ran much deeper. Because that was the norm for most of the managers, they were inadvertently telling employees; “Your effort doesn’t count. And, there are no expectations or consequences for your actions. ”

Not surprisingly, years later I discovered that this organization’s culture was “Passive-Defensive”.

Organizational Culture is described as the “consciously held notions shared by members that most directly influence their attitudes and behaviours”. In other words, “what is expected of them in order to fit in and survive in the organization”.[1] A particular Organization’s Culture comes from three sets of Causal Factors – leadership styles, behaviours, and attitudes; Human Resource systems and practices; and organizational structure and job design.

                                      Click here to see a diagram about How Culture Works

In reality though, everything is driven by the organization’s leaders (past and present). In my earlier mentioned organization, the HR systems were fine. The leaders simply chose to ignore them – replacing them with a bureaucratic process that avoided telling people the truth, not rocking the boat, and trying not to upset anyone.

Non-selling jobs in that same organization were designed to be small, simplistic, and repetitive. It is important to note however, that subcultures can exist within an organization, and these are also driven by leaders. I saw another department manager reward two of her two best employees by expanding their job, giving them more responsibilities and greater challenges. In doing so, she moved the subculture for her group from being Passive/Defensive to a Constructive one.

Leadership is Key

Leadership skills and qualities are essential to building a constructive culture. Effective leadership, balanced between task and interpersonal facilitation, leads to a more constructive culture and higher motivation, coordination across the organization, and better quality and adaptability.

Research shows that Improving Leadership Skills leads to a more constructive culture and a 33% average improvement in performance.[2] Because leaders have access to all aspects of the organization Leaders have a major role in establishing and developing their organization’s culture – from their attitudes, values, and behaviours to the way they use the company’s HR systems, to how they structure people’s jobs. A good leader can even make the organization appear “flatter” by instilling a sense of ownership among the employees.

The bottom line is that human beings are wired to think and act similarly as people they spend a lot of time with. That means that an organizational culture will develop and evolve on its own. If it is not driven by the management team, chances are the resulting culture will not be a healthy one.

Any organization that has gone through a merger has probably spent a lot of time and money ensuring that the “numbers” of the new organization will work. In contrast, few bother to look at what will really makes the new company successful – the people.

Organizations are made up of individuals whose combined attitudes, values and beliefs create an organizational culture that is unique to all others. When organizations merge, two cultures are thrown together, and that could result in a collision that will eventually destroy the new company.

On paper, many mergers make good business sense. One of the “textbook” reasons for business mergers is to utilize the strengths of both original companies to create synergies for the new organization. Yet, initially at least, mergers have a negative impact on the new organization. According to The Financial Post’s book, 100 Best Companies to Work for in Canada, it takes three or four years to “re-establish a working environment that employees would characterize as excellent.” In the mean time, “productivity goes down” and “the merger (has) a negative impact on employee morale.”[i] Worse, at the end of this “getting acquainted” period, the resulting culture might not be the one that senior management wants.

“When organizations merge, two cultures are thrown together, and that could result in a collision that will eventually destroy the new company.”

Senior Managers can make one of two decisions. They can wait the three or four years for “nature to take its course” or they can take control. 

Controlling the process involves a number of steps:

1. Measure the culture of the two original organizations. Human Synergistics Organizational Culture Inventory™ (OCI) measures the actual culture (the expected shared attitudes, values, and beliefs) against an Ideal one. Culture is measured around 12 styles. These 12 styles can be split into a number of clusters. First, there is a task vs. people split, then a satisfaction vs. security one, and finally a constructive vs. a defensive split.

2. De-brief each original organization on their existing, pre-merger culture – its strengths and weaknesses. This will help each side understand their culture, as well as what they are bringing to the table.

3. Share the results of both surveys with all parties. Understanding the other party’s culture vis-a-vis your own is the first major step in constructively merging them.

4. Decide on an Ideal new culture. Defining the new Ideal is easier than it appears. Human Synergistics research has found a positive correlation between Ideal cultures (high in achievement, humanistic-encouraging, affiliative and self-actualized orientation) and such outcomes as employee engagement and product quality.

5. Develop an action plan to have the new organization work towards the Ideal culture. There are several Causal Factors that have a direct effect on culture – leadership styles and practices, Human Resource systems, organizational and job design, the mission, philosophy and values of the new organization. But all of these factors are directly influenced by the leadership team.

An organization’s culture evolves over time or it can be directed by the management team. Many leaders who see shortcomings in their present culture often delay tackling the problem. Leaders who ignore culture during a merger, do so at their peril. Mergers can serve as an ideal catalyst to initiating cultural change because most people accept the fact that they are going to have to make changes.

Allan Stewart is the President of Human Synergistics Canada and has been helping organizations change their cultures for over thirty years. He is considered to be a leading expert on organizational culture, its causes and its outcomes.

[i] * Eva Innes, Jim Lyon, and Jim Harris, The Financial Post 100 Best Companies to Work for in Canada, (Revised Edition), Harpers, Collins Publishers Ltd., 1990. Page 1.

First, let’s review exactly what culture is – and isn’t. Culture is the overall expectations of members’ attitudes and behaviours – what it takes to “fit in”. These expectations can be communicated subtly, sub-consciously or explicitly. Behaviours and attitudes cover everything from simple things such as how to dress to complex issues such as sharing opinions.

For non-management personnel, culture answers questions such as “How do I fit in? How do I excel? And, (sometimes) how do I survive?” For management, culture answers questions more like, “How do I expect people to fit in, excel and survive?” Often times, the answers to these questions are dramatically different between the management group and the rank and file members. (That is why it is so very important to regularly measure the organization’s culture.)

Culture is not a measure of employee satisfaction or employee engagement – they are the end result of culture. Nor is culture a measure of emotions. Many companies still describe their “culture” using emotion adjectives such as “fun” or “happy place to work”. Some companies erroneously describe their culture based on their operating strategy, such as “fast paced” or “customer focused”. None of these definitions or terms describe what behaviours or attitudes are expected from members.

Why Does Culture Matter?

Organizational Culture is connected to two very important sets of outcomes – people and productivity.  The people outcomes include member satisfaction and employee engagement and all of the subsequent outcomes such as turnover, sick pay, grievances and stress.  The productivity outcomes include individual and group motivation, customer service quality and interest in quality improvement initiatives. Together, these two sets of outcomes have a significant impact on the long-term viability of any organization.

This basically means that the more Constructive your culture, the more likely it is that your organization will experience long-term success. However, achieving a Constructive Culture is not a simple undertaking. The journey is often long and difficult. Some of the levers for culture change include organizational restructure, changing job designs, overhauling Human Resources Management systems and (nearly always) management and leadership training. And this is not a one-time journey. Every organization can do better – and every organization can have their Constructive Culture slip. For example, high turnover (especially in management) or a change in management behaviour caused by an economic downturn can quickly erode a Constructive Culture.

The implication is that senior management in every organization must pay attention to culture – now and always.