A Journey Towards Changing Workplace Culture

As I navigate my career, working with diverse teams and individuals, it’s becoming increasingly clear that individualism is a dominant force in Western culture today. This trend, which started gaining traction even before the pandemic, has only deepened in our post-COVID world. While I’m generalising to some extent, it’s impossible to ignore the stark contrast between our personal social networks and professional environments.

In my own social circles, relationships are grounded in mutual support and genuine concern for one another’s well-being. But as I turn my gaze towards the workplace, I observe a different picture emerging. It seems we are drifting away from a sense of collective belonging towards a survival mode, where personal agendas often overshadow team goals. It’s a shift that’s hard-wired into our instincts – a natural response when we’re focused on meeting our individual needs.

This dynamic frequently surfaces in my role as a team and leadership development consultant. I often encounter clients struggling with colleagues who prioritise personal gain over organisational goals. Yet, as the poet John Donne famously said, “No man is an island.”

So, how do we start moving back towards fostering organisational cultures that reflect a collective ‘us’?

The Shift from ‘I’ to ‘We’

Reflecting on the values most organisations aspire to – compassion, care, respect, openness, and honesty – it’s evident that these are inherently collective. No organisation sets out to promote selfishness or individualistic behaviour. Yet, there is a noticeable gap between these ideals and the reality of how people behave at work.

To understand this better, let’s delve into the concepts of covenants and contracts. Though they both involve exchanges between parties, they operate on fundamentally different principles.

Contracts: The Transactional Exchange

In a traditional contract, the agreement is straightforward: each party gives something to receive something in return. If one side doesn’t fulfil their part, the contract is breached, and both can walk away. This quid pro quo framework is clear-cut and relies on mutual benefit to function.

Covenants: The Commitment Beyond Reciprocity

Covenants, on the other hand, are less transactional and more about commitment. Even if one party doesn’t receive what was expected, the obligation to give remains. It’s a promise that isn’t dependent on receiving something in return.

Applying These Concepts to the Workplace

When we think about contracts in a professional context, they encompass our formal agreements – salaries, benefits, and job duties. If either side fails to uphold their end, the relationship can be severed. These are the foundations of our employment.

Covenants, however, take us beyond these formal structures. They touch on why we choose to work somewhere in the first place – the draw of a company’s vision and values. They challenge us to consider if we are willing to give more than what’s outlined in our job descriptions and to contribute to the organisation’s success regardless of immediate personal gain.

Shifting Organisational Culture

I’ve observed a growing trend towards individualism in the workplace, where the focus on personal interests often overshadows collective goals. This self-centred approach can erode workplace relationships and detract from a shared purpose.

One striking example comes from a story I heard about a leader who felt drained by the effort they were putting into supporting a colleague, without feeling appreciated in return. They realised, however, that their commitment to support this colleague wasn’t just about that individual but about the success of the entire organisation. This broader perspective helped alleviate their frustration.

In any system, giving and receiving are intertwined, but like a covenant, our commitment to contribute should not be solely based on immediate reciprocation. Nature provides a beautiful analogy: a flower gives its nectar to a bird without expecting anything back, yet the bird spreads pollen to other flowers, aiding in the plant’s reproduction. The flower may receive pollen from another flower via another bird later in the day. The system thrives on these interconnected acts of giving and receiving.

Embedding Values in Organisational Culture

So, how do we cultivate a workplace culture that embodies collective values? Here are two key principles:

1. Resonance: Think of values like musical notes. When you sing a note near a piano, the corresponding key vibrates in response. Similarly, when we embody values like compassion and kindness, they resonate within our organisation. These values will echo back to us, often from unexpected places.
2. Fractals: In nature, fractals are patterns that repeat across different scales. Similarly, simple behavioural rules can create complex and consistent cultural patterns in organisations. For instance, starlings in a murmuration follow simple rules like maintaining distance and direction, creating beautiful, synchronised movements. In workplaces, consistent behaviours like helping those who are struggling can form the foundation of a supportive culture.

Crafting the Future

To instil new values in our workplaces, we must start by exemplifying them ourselves. It’s not enough to set targets or organise training sessions. To borrow a phrase from Nike, true cultural change happens when we “just do it” – live the values we wish to see.

Of course, this journey can be exhausting, and sometimes, taking a break is necessary. But to genuinely transform organisational culture, we must continuously put these principles into practice.

Let’s ask ourselves: What new rules and values do we want to see flourish in our organisations? What will we start ‘singing’ today? And importantly, are we ready to listen for the echoes of these new values as they resonate back to us?