Corporate culture is everyone’s business. In the past, the task of building organizational culture might have rested on the shoulders of the HR Manager or even the CEO; but now we see a paradigm shift.
Today, many companies encourage employees to participate in defining how their organizations should interact with their members, suppliers, and customers. What we do know about culture is that it creates the standard for customs and collective behavior. Given the varying challenges of differing industries, equal focus is being given to company culture as much as technical planning.
In an article published in Forbes in 2022, Prof. Benjamin Laker points out that the value of workplace culture becomes a crucial variable for stability during turbulent times. The same article also explains how a resilient company can adapt to uncertainty and how leaders should inspire others.
Laker says leaders inspire their employees by empowering them and by not dictating how their tasks are meant to be executed. He argues that the “gift of autonomy” in creative thinking and problem-solving can foster innovation and a sense of freedom. After all, each member contributes to the overall culture and dynamic of a group.
The conditions for fostering organizational culture appear similar to leadership conditions. While hierarchies are well-defined in a corporation, informal powers can’t be denied. In some settings, a long-time employee becomes a friend to every employee. Or there may be an assistant who gains a lot of knowledge about a manager’s tasks and possesses the confidence to converse with other managers when his boss is not around.
Overall, good relationships that stem from a good organizational culture result in more efficient operations and higher morale among employees. What kind of company does not want that?
