Organizational culture

Originated from: QBQ QuickNote
Written by John G. Miller (Author of QBQ! and Flipping the Switch)

I've been in the training industry since 1986 and have heard many discussions about organizational "culture"—and lots of definitions of what it is:

"The way we do things." "Shared values." "Accepted norms of behavior." "How we talk to and treat each other."

I don't know what the right definition is, but one exercise we at QBQ, Inc. like to take teams through is to allow them to describe their current culture—let's call it Culture 1—using up to ten adjectives. Then we ask them to describe what they want to become, calling that Culture 2. Interestingly, there's always a Culture 2. No matter how excellent, profitable, or storied an organization is, we've never seen a team not describe Culture 2 differently—and better—than Culture 1. In other words, everybody seeks to improve, yet rarely does it happen! Why?

Lack of personal accountability.

As individuals we abdicate our ownership role in moving from "C1" to "C2." We step back thinking, I'm not going to take the risk. I'll let others do it. But here's the reality: Organizations change only when people change. And what must change are the questions we ask. Here are five Incorrect Questions (IQs) that hold our organizations back, because they hold each of us back.

"Why do we have to go through all this change?"
"When is someone going to train me?"
"Who made the mistake?"
"Why don't others walk their talk?"
"Who's going to improve this place?"

Now let's use The Question Behind the Question and change these IQs to QBQs:

"What can I do to adapt to the changing world?"
"How can I develop myself?"
"What can I do to help?"
"How can I practice the principles I espouse?"
"What action can I take to have positive impact?"

Converting any or all of the IQs to QBQs will change our cultures, but let's focus on that last QBQ. A favorite client years ago, Mike Berman of Boston Scientific, asked this insightful question regarding the Super Hot Fad of the 1990s—Empowerment: "Is power given or is power taken?" It's a worthy debate, but one thing that's clear is this: Those who do not feel "empowered" often play The Blame Game, pointing fingers at the ... culture! And at people with position power such as executives and managers. Of course we still need bosses, when the "bullets are flying" we don't call a meeting—someone needs to take charge. But we're not talking here about times of crisis, but every day culture. And just as people blame management when they don't feel empowered, people also complain about cultures they don't like. But the truth is culture is created by people, by individuals—by you and me. It's never about "the company"—we just think it is. It's really about ...

The Power of One:

One person changing their own view of self, of others, and of taking risk.
One person who dares to speak up in a meeting disagreeing with those with bigger titles.
One person who'll call a problem a problem and not use code-talk like "opportunity" or "challenge."
One person willing to be direct with the boss.
One person who says "I own this place!"—not financially but emotionally.
One person who worries less about their next performance review and more about doing the right thing.
One person who walks away when others are whispering, "When are they gonna tell us what's going on?!"
One person bold enough to identify the "elephant in the room" and then offer ideas that contribute.
One person who is tired of playing the game of politics and just wants to get the job done.
One person who simply asks, "What action can I take right now to have positive impact?"

I want to be this One Person—this person who knows I am the "One" in the phrase "The Power of One." I want to help create a QBQ! Culture. And that's where I want to work.

How about you?