Company cultures do not develop with the familiar analyze-plan-direct process used for operational issues. Cultures develop with an evolutionary process, .i.e. in response to the environment, to opportunities — never against resistance. You might induce a work culture to evolve, but you cannot direct a work culture to evolve by a command from above.
Leaders can induce a work culture to evolve by changing the cultural “force-field”. They can do this easily and simply, by changing how they lead. When leaders, show openness, trust, and participation in their actions, they change the work environment, and the culture adapts (evolves) to it. An evolved or developed work culture is good for people and excellent for business success. Here are the principles of evolution.
What Is Evolution?
In its broadest sense evolution is change over time. In its more technical “Darwinian” usage, biological evolution occurs when a genetic change spreads to large populations of a species because it helps the species survive. In everyday usage, we say “evolution” occurs in organisms, galaxies, languages, cultures, people, and politics.
Evolution Requires Adapting to the Environment
Billions of years ago when Earth’s temperature dropped and the right chemicals were present, life emerged. Life was a remarkable response to a changed environment. Organisms became increasingly complex, in response to complex environments, eventually occupying every conceivable ecological niche.
Organisms survive when they are well adapted. If the environment changes and the organism does not change, it will die. Dinosaurs expired when a large meteor hit the Earth, dramatically changing the climate. You don’t want this to happen to your company. As the Boy Scouts say, “Be Prepared.”
Human Evolution
“Human evolution” has three common meanings.
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- Biological evolution, that took us from early primates to modern man. Notable additions were the large brain, the upright gait, and the opposable thumb.
- Personal development of the individual from childhood to adulthood, from relative simplicity to psychological complexity.
- Social evolution with our highly developed communication and social skills. Outstanding among these are language and culture.
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Company Evolution
A company culture evolves if it develops in a direction that is good for people, and good for business. The process mirrors biological evolution, where genetic changes survive because they are advantageous to the species. Similarly, desirable corporate changes are those that ensure the health and long-term survival of the company.
When an evolved culture allows people to bring more of themselves to the task, the company will be more productive, profitable, and competitive. In evolutionary terms, this means the company will be stronger, more vital, more robust. When changes occur in the marketplace, the more evolved company will be more responsive and adaptable. It will thrive, while less developed, less adaptable companies fail.
A Well Developed Company Culture
Culture and personality are very similar. A well-developed company culture would be similar to a mature adult. It might be: open, secure, confident, responsible, empathetic, tolerant, self-aware, caring, engaged and engaging, trusting and trustable, productive, complex, self-directed, with actions based on a good and clear set of values.
A poorly-developed company culture would be similar to a poorly developed person. For example, it might be described as impulsive, exploitive, aggressive, manipulative, blaming, fearful, controlling, dependent, retaliatory, and having conceptual simplicity e.g. sees things in black and white terms instead of shades of gray, or, blames a person instead of looking at the situation.
Evolution Is Not a Motivational Session
While seminars and motivational events may be part of a company’s culture, such events will not change a work culture. There is no quick fix. Evolution is a long-term process of change, where desired characteristics are retained, undesirable ones allowed to regress, and undeveloped ones encouraged.
Ironically, attempts to change the culture by directives or motivational events may actually move the culture backward. Such top-down actions reinforce the strong authoritarian qualities typical of most underdeveloped work cultures.
Evolution Is Unpredictable
At the start of the universe, who could have imagined life, people, or cultures? Evolution is certainly unpredictable, a real surprise. There are infinite ways:
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- The world could have evolved.
- The day might turn out.
- To be a mature person.
- To become a well-developed company culture.
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To illustrate unpredictability, let’s say managers decide to open decisions to the participation of people affected. What happens is often surprising, e.g.
A group of engineers at a chemical plant made a presentation to a work crew about a new supply system they were planning to install in the crew’s area. When they opened the meeting to questions one of the long-term employees casually mentioned that a similar system was currently accessible close by (though apparently missing from the plant’s ‘as-built’ engineering drawings). Surprised at the new information, the engineers canceled their proposed project — at a considerable saving.
Cultures Evolve Because People Want Them to Evolve
People want to be more productive, more involved, recognized, communicate better, and have stronger working relationships. So there is a natural pressure for the company to move in that direction. That’s why when leaders show that they want the culture to evolve, people quickly join them. You might say that leadership’s challenge is to get out of the way and let natural selection work.
© Barry Phegan, Ph.D.