Where Does Culture Rank in Your Strategic Plan? | Excellerate

It didn?t happen overnight, but culture has cracked the line-up with progressive leaders, and is now revered in the same league as vision, mission, strategy, and core values when it comes to strategic planning. This transition, and the growing acceptance of culture as an integral strategic component, comes from the realization that it?s a living and breathing reflection of the way a company operates on a day-to-day basis. Culture is often called the ?heartbeat of a business? since it represents the philosophy of how all stakeholders including employees, customers, suppliers, partners and future hires see and experience the company in action. It?s visible every day, at every level, in every transaction, which means that nurturing the desired culture is a company-wide responsibility.

At the same time, and perhaps attributable to its intangible nature, culture is still a widely misunderstood driver that directly impacts organizational performance. Only in recent years has it begun to gain attention and respect for the role it plays in a stream of human resource related challenges that include morale, turnover, absenteeism, reduced productivity and job dissatisfaction, amongst others. If culture is effectively and consistently managed, it will absolutely contribute to the improved health of the organization.

This is an especially sensitive topic for owners and executives because culture typically reflects their own leadership style, behaviours and actions. It impacts every aspect and person associated with the business, but not always in constructive ways. That?s because culture can exist whether it has been actively modelled and developed, or whether it has been created by default over time. The risk of allowing it not just to develop on its own, but to continue taking on a life of its own, is that it will sometimes manifest in unexpected or undesired ways that can adversely affect the performance of the business. Therefore being deliberate, while seeking to understand the tools, decisions and steps required to actively shape the positive and consistent culture desired for the organization, can have measurable results.

Aligning the leadership team with the overall goals is a vital, early step toward defining, clarifying and supporting culture expectations, but actually modelling the practices of the culture to be reinforced, via performance and rewards management, can be the best way to see it ripple into the everyday work environment and guide the behaviour of the workforce.

If leaders acknowledge that culture is fluid, that it will continue to evolve through each stage of growth; and if they recognize it is influenced by the decisions and activities of all stakeholders ? including every newly hired team member ? the ongoing commitment to culture revitalization will create a tangible competitive advantage. Not just that, but positive customer experiences will help propel the company closer to reaching its business potential.

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Source: http://www.excellerate4success.com/2012/10/30/where-does-culture-rank-in-your-strategic-plan/

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