That the frustrated conclusion from a HR manager. He is right. He makes a common experience with a lot of project teams trying to change cultural basics. There is always the hope that people will change behavior for better communication, less conflicts, higher motivation, less games between departments and managers and so on.
The methodology of change is always similar: Development of beliefs, competencies and leadership principles according a brand or new strategy. Then top-down information and start of implementation with a kick-off with the group-wide top-management. The implementation process contains seminars and workshops with a lot of exercises and discussions, the Top shows up for evening roundtables.
Participants and Management are happy – but nothing will change in the daily work.
There is no culture of continuous process improvement, no measurable impact in sales as a consequence of the training; the innovation rate does not increase and employees don’t work with higher motivation.
As result the company has nice booklets with beliefs, competencies and leadership principles – well written by PR-Agencies. It’s a shame but true: in very different companies the booklets have the same content and nearly the same layout, be it in banks, pharmaceutical, in big or middle sized companies.
And: After a few months the Management is persuaded to have fully implemented the new culture and new problems will define new priorities. After that HR is responsible without any sponsor.
What’s going wrong? The basic assumption is wrong. We cannot change behavior through information, outdoor training and workshops.
People are working in a company to make their daily living, to get rich or to have the opportunity to self-actualize personal needs like power, reputation or professional success. Over time a system finds ways to fulfill such needs for the members, it is a sort of equilibrium – with all the daily problems and conflicts. Some people leave the company, others will play more tennis ore work for payments and not more, but there are always very engaged employees.
If someone tries to change – it will be to fulfill better the personal needs and that is often not congruent with the cultural change idea. And if a company is successful, change will be perceived as a threat.
But – someone will argue – there were a lot of behavioral changes the last twenty years, as well in companies as in society: Consumer behavior, cooperation within companies, team oriented work, etc.
That is correct, but it was no intentional influence through some leaders, it was and is a system which is evolving under the lead of technical inventions and developments (often pushed by wars or national competition like between US-UDSSR).
Only one example: Internet - comparable with the consequences of the invention of the steam engine.
www was invented 1989 in Geneva (as the end of a long development process starting mid fiftieth). In 1996 were about 70 Billion users worldwide – today about 1.5 Trillion. The change wasn’t fast in the first ten years but in the last ten years dramatically fast (from 2000 to 2008 342%) and radical.
For the older generation it may be a sort of monster behind the world, for the young generation it is only one world – sometimes with a confused understanding of “reality”.
What will it be for the next generation with immense new possibilities in virtual worlds (think about neuro-chips, genetics, …).
What is interesting for the topic of cultural change? There is no managed change process; it is more a continuous iterative system development.
In inner circles the discussion about ethics and cultural values for future status starts very early, long time before a crisis, but if no bigger problems occur, it will be a more academic discussion without political influence.
In the 60-th we discussed about Mickey Mouse. We analyzed the patterns of conflict solutions, the image of women and the influence of children’s attitudes. But it was a discussion in small groups of educational scientists. Today we have a big discussions about war games, physical conflicts in school yards – new media, but same patterns.
In the 70-th we discussed new social instruments to reduce poverty like a basic lifelong personal rent and started the discussion about environmental threats and responsibilities. But only crises, the fear of consequences or new grounds for profit have given the discussion the actual importance. Now everybody discuss it and a lot of professors have “said it” years ago!!
There are similar patterns in the field of management. Let’s focus e.g. on delegation and teamwork. Thirty years ago managers told me it would be an ideological idea and very theoretical! But with new technologies and all other complexity drivers it is not possible no more to manage a system with one brain.
That means cultural change is driven by complexity and not by leadership principles. The change process happens somehow.
Cultural change is a reaction to adapt to new environmental (business, society, nature) conditions and cannot be driven by intellectual proposals, booklets and workshops.
There are only a few really creative people changing patterns through curiosity and/or anticipation.
If the named HR manager is frustrated it is his own fault. He didn’t truly analyze what his superior perceives as a threat or profitable opportunity – just now or in anticipation.
If a CEO doesn’t see an existential threat or a reliable opportunity for himself or his company, he will agree with new cultural measures, but in principal he isn’t interested at all and he will not change his behavior and also the next levels will agree and discuss but again, without any change in their behavioral attitudes.
And there is another manager (perhaps human) habit:
The first reaction in a threatening situation is to utilize all learned patterns to overcome it: Harder work, hierarchical decisions, cost saving, cash management, part time work, layoffs.
Conclusion
In normal managerial situations there will be no managed cultural change. Change will happen over time ore in crisis - perhaps.
Willi
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