The Boardroom Paradox: Harden the softest like culture; and soften the hardest like number.
As organizations enter into a more competitive,
unpredictable business environment, the more closely an adaptive culture is linked to organizational performance. Statistically, in the fortune 500 since
they started reporting, about 2000 companies have come and gone. So just
because you get there does not mean you stay there. The staying power is
largely something to do with the culture. Therefore, which role corporate board
should play in over-sighting & refining business culture? 1. Culture can Literately Make and Break the Company
The simple definition of culture is the collective behaviors
of a group of people that share a common mission. Companies with an adaptive
culture which is aligned to their business goals routinely outperform their
competitors. To achieve great results, the boards have to figure out what the
culture is, decide what it should be, to make the invisible culture more tangible, and move everyone toward the desired
culture, but it is through clear business vision
The Boardroom culture
is determinant of overall business culture: The spirit of organization
comes from the top. An
organization's culture reflects the values and pattern of behavior of its
executive management and can be labeled as the organization's
PERSONALITY. Not only is the culture of the board/executive important, it
is a determinant of the culture developed within the whole organization. Thus, the
development of organizational culture starts with the board and
executive.
A healthy and
productive culture is both the cause and result of enterprise success, If a
Board of Directors and Executive Management team has an open, inclusive and
innovative culture, they also clearly define the mission of the enterprise and
align organizational behaviors toward achieving goals derived from the mission,
a healthy and productive culture will result. If Boards and Management do a
good job of defining Mission
Therefore, it is imperative that the Board has a clear
understanding of how the Company rates in regards to the overall culture of the
Company. Company culture is
important because it can literally make or break the company.
2. Culture can be Changed with Effective Leadership
It is very easy to assume we know the culture of a company
but there are so many elements to it. When you try to do a merger, a spectrum
of culture differences can get very visible very fast. Company cultures
evolve and they change over time. Changes could either be negative or positive.
The changes in company culture may be intended, but often they are unintended
and just occur over time or they may be major changes or minor. However, culture will change as the corporate environment changes and that starts with effective leadership.
Leadership is one of the key ingredients in culture. The company culture
will change and it is important to be aware of the changes. But better know
your mission, gather resources, define strategies and set goals to drive a business
to market-driven performance and excellence. As culture, has much to do about
how a group people feel about and how they contribute and make a difference.
Self-motivated people really want a sense of belonging and contribution. If the
team does not believe or support the corporate vision or its mission, is not
focused on the strategies or execution and they are not working together to
achieve these goals, they will not feel like they are part of or contribute to
the culture.
3. Culture as Defining Step in Innovation
There are six
elements (leadership, culture, resources, processes, measuring & monitoring
and improvement) in innovation management. The first two elements are
critical to innovation and if not addressed properly, innovation can not be a
sustained within the organization. Board and executive management are directly
responsible for the first two elements (culture and leadership), whereby these
elements can not be delegated.
A Culture of
Innovation like a blender, which can well mix three important ingredients
in high performance team - PASSION, FOCUS and TEAMWORK. If an effective leader
can lay out a realistic Vision/PASSION and FOCUSES on the essential strategies
and their execution, and drive the results through TEAMWORK, people will begin
to achieve. But its starts with leadership, shaping the high effective culture and
getting people to rally around a common vision that resonates action and
innovation!
There’s
intra-organization culture, and don’t forgetting that there is an
extra-organization culture as well. Culture
is not a mythical "thing" that comes automatically. It will change
how the process works and how collaboration works and most importantly
"How to identify Innovation" and deliver it for the success of all- Employees,
Customers and Shareholders. Since only 7% of the companies have achieved
"Best In Class" Performance.. It is not something that rolls in on
the first day of outstanding performance and stays there. However, the most of Boards had never placed importance on the culture of their business or even
given it a thought. Or it is never discussed or measured in any meaningful way
at board/executive level. This is especially true regarding the culture of
boardroom.
Therefore, boards and senior leadership team have to play
pivotal role in refining business culture. And high performance culture is an attitude
& leadership quality that institutionalize the true foundation for
continuous improvement….ultimately becomes a way of life for the enterprise
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