For decades, Transforming Solutions Inc. has helped organizations define how their people perform critical work via our process improvement projects. These processes could be in sales and marketing, such as taking an order, or in operations, in terms of how an order gets picked, packed, and shipped. We also have helped in many higher education processes from the student, alumni, and faculty-oriented processes. Since there are hundreds of variations of the process, defining how people perform critical processes is absolutely mission-critical.
A few years ago, I noticed something interesting with our clients who hired TSI to train them on process improvement and organizational change management skills and subsequently lead them in their own process improvement journey. Don’t tell anyone…but their culture actually began to change as a result of what they learned and started to apply in their own organizations.
This post is not about the work that we did. Not at all. It’s about the initiative that these teams took, the space that their leadership gave them, and the progress they made.
I discovered that by starting with more tactical needs like improving operating efficiency without any intentional ‘culture change’ initiative, culture change was happening. Starting with learning new skills, these organizations developed an individual and organizational sense of “self-awareness” and they paid attention to some interesting fundamentals of the process, such as:
- Who is currently involved in getting the work done versus who actually needs to be?
- What steps are being performed?
- Are most of these steps manual or automated?
- What do we do that adds little to no value to our organization?
- How do our handoffs work?
- Where do we fumble?
- Where do we thrive?
These are all critical questions around process improvement. However, the culture shift that occurs through the program of process improvement is most notable. Individuals and teams learned useful tools that equipped them to look at their world, and in turn their organization, differently.
When employees are empowered to make a change, this can build momentum within the organization and begin to change its DNA. You move from an organization that is operated, to a degree, in the dark, to one that has cast a spotlight on key opportunities for improvement.
The 4 E’s of the Teams That Get It
Through working with a variety of organizations, it is worth noting that the teams who embrace their new mindset and try to ‘move the needle’ on the culture scale, typically possess a combination of these four characteristics:
- Energized – The process improvement pilot team members – some may be subject experts – who stand out simply radiate positivity. They learn with ‘fresh eyes’ and are willing to try, refine, and improve on new skills.
- Empowered – This one is mostly the responsibility of senior leadership to allow the team to make changes absent of bureaucracy. In conjunction, the team needs to take that responsibility and do something useful with it. That does not mean that the process team has carte blanch authority, but they need some latitude to initiate change. How frustrating that must be for those in organizations who are given a chance to learn new skills but have no authority to make any changes.
- Lack of Ego – Prima Donna ego’s kill culture change. The teams that I see thrive are typically diverse and absent of large egos that kill the culture. Process improvement team member selection is so critical, as they need both Attitude and Aptitude to be successful.
- Engaged – This is no different than the person who ‘goes through the motions’ during their workouts and then gets frustrated they aren’t seeing any results; the engaged team, comprised of team members that challenge themselves and each other, is in a class by themselves.
The Quick Fix Mindset: Just Buy New Software
An alternative approach that we have also experienced is an interesting one. And, not surprisingly, it is an approach that we see far too often. The approach looks something like this – a group (a growing corporation, university or non-profit organization) has an aging technology platform and surrounding it, inefficient processes, and some degree of dysfunction in the organization structure. They aim to fix it by buying a new (and expensive) software product. Then, when it comes time to implement the new software product (an ERP, CRM, or other significant new enterprise application) the expectation is that this new shiny piece of software is a lever to transform their culture.
My software implementation friends – I feel your pain 🙂
This is an interesting approach. I’m sure it has worked somewhere along the line, but it is akin to purchasing that shiny new piece of workout equipment, thinking that it is going to turn you into a workout enthusiast.
This is exactly where tools and techniques pertaining to organizational change management collide with the needs and levers for culture change. Just like the workout equipment metaphor once you are clear on “your why” – doing some mental and emotional preparatory work – you will make gains.
How You Can Initiate Culture Change
- Does your team or organization have any “bright spots” or isolated examples of wins that we can use to build some culture change momentum on?
- What tensions and blind spots does your organization have that prevent it from moving to the culture that will allow it to thrive?
- When you think about the key characteristics that are part of your organization’s DNA, consider which ones you want to build on and which you hope to move away from.
- How can you illustrate the impact that those organizational ‘toxins’ have on your organization?
If you are a corporate or higher education practitioner (sorry consultant friends), consider attending our upcoming webinar on utilizing process improvement for cultural change within your organization.
Do you have other things that you and your organization consider when looking at characteristics and culture? We would love to hear them! Let us know what has worked or failed within your organization in the comments below.
For other related articles on culture, check out these posts on TSI Insights:
Why Culture Change is so Elusive (and What You Can Do)
Change Culture by Not Changing Culture
How Does a Culture of Change Turn Resistance into Growth?
