When your corporate culture becomes dysfunctional, it is said to be decaying. In this concluding part of the topic I started last week, I am helping you identify signs that your corporate culture needs critical attention while proffering solutions. Afterall, speaking medically, every successful treatment starts with an accurate diagnosis. And, even if your workplace culture is currently in a good place, this piece can serve as a safeguard for your culture journey. It is better protected than lost.
How Corporate Culture Becomes Dysfunctional
- Erosion and Neglect:
Culture does not collapse overnight; it fades and erodes in silence when no one pays attention to it. Ignoring small issues and allowing trust and morale to slip away are key contributors to its decline.
- Misalignment with Strategy:
If a company’s culture is out of alignment with its business strategy (e.g., trying to be agile with a hierarchical culture), tensions and friction will develop, and the business will suffer.
- Failure to Evolve:
Holding on too tightly to an initial culture that no longer suits the needs of an ever-shifting employee base and market can cause it to become obsolete.
- Lack of Leadership Buy-In and Role Modeling:
Culture change requires a top-down commitment. If leaders don’t model the desired behaviours, no one else will see it as necessary, and the culture will not stick.
- Toxic Environments:
When a culture is “broken,” it can lead to a toxic environment with high employee turnover, low engagement, and poor performance, effectively killing the positive aspects of the original culture.
How to Keep Culture Constantly Renewed
Corporate culture is a “living asset” that requires constant, intentional input and stewardship from leaders and employees at all levels. Successful organisations treat culture as an ongoing journey, not a one-off initiative.
The following are steps leaders must actively take to keep culture healthy:
- Assess and Adapt:
Regularly evaluate the cultural health of the firm and compare it to current business goals.
- Communicate and Reinforce:
Clearly define and consistently communicate the desired values, reinforcing them through actions and celebrating progress.
- Invest in People:
Ensure employees feel valued, heard, and appropriately compensated, which builds trust and engagement.
There can be a lot more steps to take, but I would stop at these. A basic need for human interaction and shared norms in the workplace will always exist, but the specific values and behaviours of a given corporate culture can and must periodically evolve to remain healthy, competitive and effectively.
I trust that this helped. I remain your ‘Betterme Project Partner’, Bosede Olusola-Obasa. I train and I consult around personal character development, best workplace attitudes, exceptional customer service mindset, ethical leadership and trust culture strategy.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
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