The building blocks of a healthy organizational culture
Our team members, Gathoni Mwai, Naiya Raja and Peace Nganwa, continue their conversations on culture in this second edition.
As we highlighted in our last conversation, there’s no such thing as a perfect organizational culture, and no single model fits every organization. Culture is dynamic, and is both an individual and shared experience between team members. Creating a healthy culture - building, shaping and adapting it - requires consistent, long-term effort and intention.
However, in our experience, there are some building blocks that make the foundation for building a healthy organizational culture. Here, we’ll explore some of these blocks, which are often interconnected and influence each other.
→ Leadership and Teams
→ Trust & Psychological safety
→ Shared purpose - Values, Mission & Vision
→ Internal communications
The building blocks of a healthy organizational culture
Organization X has been operating for nearly a decade, boasting a highly proficient team driven by passion for their work. Their exponential growth spans various levels, from grassroots initiatives to national and transboundary projects, demonstrating their effectiveness and efficiency. While their model may not be unique, the true strength of their impact lies in the cohesion and dynamism of Team X.
Comprising individuals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, Team X operates seamlessly despite often working in separate capacities. Their unity is cemented by a strong bond rooted in shared cultural values and practices. At the organization's helm is a leader deeply committed to the well-being of people and wildlife conservation. Their leadership style is characterized by motivation and inspiration, igniting passion among team members.
Open and transparent communication is a cornerstone of the organization's culture, ensuring that every voice is heard and valued. This environment of trust and empowerment encourages team members to innovate without fear of failure, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and creativity.
Additionally, Team X commits time each week to engage in very popular sports activities, promoting physical and mental well-being and strengthening team cohesion. This balance between intimate bonding and strategic alignment further contributes to the organization's success and resilience.
Based on this example, let's explore how these building blocks support a thriving culture.
→ What role do leaders and teams play in determining and influencing organizational culture?
Leaders
Leaders set the tone. The actions of leaders and founders set the original culture of an organization. Leaders create the right environment for culture to hatch and grow. They shape and model organizational values and the culture they want to see. This means as a leader it’s important to identify what values and beliefs matter most to you and your team, and then work to ensure your policies, practices, and behaviors all uphold those values.
Tip: Leaders should create the right environment and lead by example. As a result, many things will fall into place naturally.
Reflection: As a leader, what actions and behaviors do you model for your team?
Further reading: Intimate-Strategic balance and valuing people
Teamwork
Culture is not shaped by a single person. Everyone influences culture in one way or another. We love the analogy of a strong team as a well-functioning car embarking on a road trip. Your organization’s leadership is like the driver, steering you forward. However, the car won’t go anywhere without a well-running and strong engine, which is your team.
Like a car, a functional team needs all its components to work together. At the same time, there is no sole custodian of a team’s culture; it is a combination of people and parts working together. In many instances, healthier team cultures exist because all members strive to maintain them, and all members play an active role.
Tip: Culture needs teamwork! It is the sum of many parts. Hiring for ‘culture fit’ is as vital as professional competency.
Reflection: Are you a team with a culture of supporting and celebrating each other?
→ How do we move from talking about trust to implementing it? How do you build trust?
Trust and psychological safety
Trust is foundational for strong leadership and effective teams. Trust is also essential for what is termed, ‘psychological safety’ - it is about being respectfully seen and heard. Both leaders and team members contribute to building trust within an organization. How trust and safety affect culture includes:
Increased collaboration and teamwork; open communication as employees feel confident expressing their thoughts, concerns, and feedback without fear of judgment or reprisal.
High employee engagement which includes ownership of responsibilities and contributing best efforts.
Supports risk-taking and innovation as employees feel empowered to take calculated risks and explore innovative ideas without fear of failure or blame.
Boosts morale and wellbeing, and builds organizational resilience which enables teams to navigate obstacles, adapt to new circumstances and emerge stronger.
As a foundation for good organizational culture, trust can be built in many ways.
In Maliasili, we often use Brene Brown’s BRAVING inventory. The key elements for building and breaking trust under this framework include:
Boundaries: Making clear what’s okay and what’s not okay and why.
Reliability: Doing what you say you will do; delivering commitments and balancing competing priorities.
Accountability: Own your mistakes and take responsibility for your actions. Where needed, apologize and make amends.
Vault: Keep confidence when information is shared with you. Do not share information or experiences that are not yours to share.
Integrity: Choose courage over comfort; choose what is right over what is fast or easy.
Non-judgement: Everyone can ask for what they need and talk about how they feel without fear of judgment.
Generosity: Extend the most generous interpretations towards the intentions, words and actions of others. Always assume good intentions from your colleagues and teammates.
Tip: There is no one neat prescription for building trust. We all come from different backgrounds and cultures, so the framework for your context may look different. Know which elements of trust are important for you and your team. Trust looks very different depending on the values important to you and your organization, so it's great to factor that in.
Tip: Often, it takes time to build strong and trusting relationships. Be patient with the process.
Reflections:
What key elements of trust are important for you?
How are you reinforcing trust with your team?
What do you need to regain/rebuild trust when damaged?
→ Shared Purpose - Vision, Mission and Values
Why does a clear shared mission, vision, and values matter in nurturing organizational culture?
Having a clear North Star - the guiding direction toward which you are working - is crucial. A shared vision and mission give a shared purpose to a team. What motivates people in an organization is a feeling of progress towards goals and their contribution towards that progress. You can build a team that loves what they do when you get clear on your mission and vision and have a collective sense of purpose. A team that cares about their work will likely have a healthier culture.
Values are the foundation of an organization's culture. They shape norms, attitudes, and beliefs within the workspace. Values create a sense of unity and cohesion among a team, promoting collaboration and productivity as it works towards its shared vision and mission.
A clear vision, mission, and values will create an optimal environment. They cannot just exist on paper. They must be practiced too.
Tip: Values need to be seen, not just written down! Write them down, stick them up, and live them. Let them guide the way you work internally and externally.
Reflection: Is there a shared understanding in your organization of who you are, what you do, what you stand for, and your goals?
→ Internal communication
How does internal communication drive culture?
Internal communications are the systems that keep teams connected and informed. Internal communication isn’t just about broadcasting messages, it's about creating space for meaningful dialogue and building relationships. By prioritizing transparency and openness, you can foster a positive organizational culture where employees feel empowered, engaged, and aligned with the organization's goals.
Transparent communication helps to surface and resolve conflict more effectively, enabling swift resolution when issues arise by addressing concerns directly and constructively. Open and clear internal communication cultivates trust among the team and leaders. When the team feels included in decision-making processes, they are more likely to trust leadership and feel valued.
Consistent messaging that reflects the organization's values reinforces the desired culture. Whether through team meetings, broadcasts, emails, internal newsletters or digital platforms, communication should consistently reflect and reinforce cultural norms and expectations.
Tip: Encourage open channels for feedback and dialogue. This allows for the exchange of ideas, concerns and suggestions, which leads to continuous improvement and innovation within the organization. As a leader, you can model what open communications and feedback looks like to your team.
Reflection: Do the internal communications systems you have promote a healthy organizational culture? If not, what can you do to improve this?