Culture – Two things to remember

I heard someone recently describe culture as “how decisions are made, and how performance management tools are used.”  It makes a lot of sense.

How decisions are made has to do with the decision process and decision criteria.  Delegating and empowering requires trust, which as most of us know through experience, is often the primary dysfunction of an organization.  But delegating serves two important purposes:
1) It allows for the growth and development of others; and 2) It allows the leader to focus on the most critical issues that will propel the organization forward.

As for the performance management tools, that has to do with consequences for behavior. And we know we aren’t as good as we should be about “catching people doing things right” – or addressing poor performance.

However you define culture, keep in mind that it’s simply a reflection of what you hold dear through your words and deeds.