Culture doesn’t eat strategy for breakfast!
Culture suffocates under the weight of strategy that cares more about the bottom line than it does about its people.
How a business does strategy is a truer representation of what a culture really is than aspirational sound bites hung on walls or spun out in talent development conversations.
It’s why leadership programs over time don’t live up to the hype. Affirmations, no matter how heartfelt, do not create the required cultural change if they are not embedded in the way strategy is created, languaged and executed.
There is nothing more disheartening than having senior management give eloquent speeches on vulnerability, authenticity and trust when their actions don’t align. Especially if a poorly integrated strategy document is trotted out.
In order for a desirable culture to flourish, it requires a threading of attitude, ethics, drivers and discipline, measured by behaviours, relationships and alignment of strategy with business outcomes. Strategy matters if culture is to flourish!
A healthy culture begins with everyone at every level owning their leadership evolution from self, to others, to the whole of business and society at large. If leadership evolution and business success are to effectively push each other along, a sophisticated (not complicated) and nimble (not erratic) strategic plan will be the best enabler.
Smart strategy should underpin and enable great culture. And not just for breakfast…
