Introduction
You have mapped out a brilliant strategy for change, but are you wondering why the implementation is stalling? Chances are you are overlooking an invisible but immensely powerful force: your company culture. In this article we explain why culture is not just a 'soft' concept, but the all-decisive factor that can make or break your change initiative.
Culture: the accelerator or brake of your change
Think of your change plan as a boat and your company culture as the river. You may have the most advanced boat, but if you sail against a strong current, your crew becomes exhausted and you make hardly any progress. If, however, your plan works with the current, you reach your destination with remarkable speed and efficiency. Culture is the collection of shared beliefs, values and behaviours that dictate 'how we do things here'.
A culture that values learning, experimenting and psychological safety is fertile ground for change. Employees dare to try new things and give feedback. In contrast is a culture that avoids risks, works in silos and puts seniority above innovation. Here you meet enormous resistance, because employees protect their familiar ways of working and their territory.
How culture influences communication and safety
Every message you send is interpreted through the lens of your culture. In a low-trust organisation, an announcement about 'increasing efficiency' is quickly translated as 'there will be redundancies'. In a transparent and trusting culture, the same message is seen as an attempt to make the work better for everyone. The cultural context is therefore more important than the message itself.
Psychological safety, the belief that one can take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences, is crucial during change. Employees must feel safe to ask questions, raise problems or admit that they do not understand something. Without this safety, problems keep smouldering beneath the surface, which can lead to a sudden and catastrophic failure of the project.
Work with your culture, not against it
You cannot change a culture overnight. So the first step is not imposing a plan, but diagnosing the existing culture. Behave like a cultural anthropologist:
Once you understand the culture, you can frame your change in a way that resonates. In a competitive environment, you can present the change as a way to beat the competition. In a highly collaborative culture, co-creation sessions and pilot teams are the way to go. And in an organisation that holds data in high regard, you convince with figures, graphs and clear statistics.
Your immediate action points
Do not treat culture as an obstacle, but as the context within which you operate. Do not ignore it, but understand it thoroughly.
Analyse your culture before you draw up a change plan. Observe behaviour, listen to stories and look at who gets promoted to understand what is really valued.
Align your communication and approach with the prevailing cultural norms. A message that works in a competitive culture can backfire in a collaborative environment.
Invest in psychological safety. Change asks people to take risks; make sure they feel safe enough to do so without fear of reprisals.
Navigating the cultural current during change is complex. We excel at guiding organisations through these transformations. Feel free to get in touch whenever you'd like to exchange ideas about this.
