Sometimes culture has a seat at the executive table. Companies around the global are coming to the realization that culture is a critical component of the future design of the organization.
After interviewing more than 80 companies in over 25 countries, the over-arching belief is that companies that embrace the future of culture as a critical component of the future of work are on the path to sustainable business excellence.
Over the last eighteen months whilst interviewing companies around the globe, there have been two foundations to cultural excellence that rise to prominence. These are the ideas around having a purpose and / or a set of values.
Purpose is something “greater” than the organization, something that defines the relationship between the organization and all stakeholders. It is something that has the potential to bind all team members to something greater than themselves.
Values on the other had reflect the relationships between members of the team and others around them. The best value sets are those that are simple, based on single words and embraced by all team members.
So how do these factors that have shaped organizations in the past translate into the future of work and the future of culture.
There are several components that make up the future of culture and the future of work. Some of these reflect changes that need to be made to our behaviors, whist others reflect the changing technology and speed of decision making. Not every organization will need to embrace all of these futuristic trends in order to create rich and robust cultures in the future. That said, organizations that stay static are doomed to a future of cultural toxicity.
In the next series of articles I will consider some of the ideas around the future of culture and the future of work. These will include :
Changing the way we engage with team members
Embedding lifelong learning as part of the culture
Shifting of personal value recognition into the workplace
Artificial intelligence and the future of work
Flexibility around team members
Collaboration and the virtual water cooler