Why do companies talk and try about having good culture but rarely succeed? At times, it seems more like a theoretical idea, impossible to attain.
The reason culture implementation fails in companies is the management feels that culture implementation is tangible like a goal and once, we achieve it, no more efforts are needed. They fail to appreciate that culture is not static, it is dynamic. It has a tendency to absorb new things, whether good or bad. But as we all know, it is easier to get into a bad habit, rather than a good habit.😊. It is also observed that if you do not purposely install a culture that you want, another one will get installed on its own, which you don’t want as it will not be a productive culture.
We need to appreciate that culture needs effort from both the employers and employees. Culture is a distinct product of employers’ and employees’ awareness and mindfulness states. And both these groups of people are on the move, physically and figuratively. They are governed by their surroundings and their environments. In addition to being an employer or an employee, each person is an individual also, with their perceptions and their beliefs. The variables are so large that it is almost impossible to comprehend. But the biggest factor is the psychology of the individuals that place themselves before the organization. So, the famous acronym comes in, WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). Unless we link the organizational goal to the individual goals, motivation will be hard to come by. No one in employees is interested in high-sounding vision and mission, except a few who have a higher calling.
The easiest way to motivate people and bring a positive culture to an enterprise is to prove to the employees that they are their own worst enemies. In not being united like a sports team trying to win a game, they are throwing away the chance to achieve their own personal goals, when they don’t work with full sincerity and drive.
Ok, let us leave it here and talk of a completely different but relevant theme to come back to the same track.
Who does not know that there is unity in strength? Who does not know that happy people are far more productive than a disgruntled lot of people? Who does not know that people want to be loved and trusted? By the way, everyone, in addition to wanting these, also wants to contribute and achieve something in their life, but they don’t try because they are afraid of failure. They are afraid of what the consequences of failure might bring. There is a fear. Unfortunately, this fear is present in the management also. The fear of not meeting the targets and so on. There is no excitement of reaching a high goal. And why it is so? Because the employees are not a part of goal building exercise most of the time. It is forced on them, sometimes with a carrot and sometimes, with a stick.
Despite noticing that this way of handling has either failed commercially or failed psychologically resulting in the emergence of lifestyle diseases, we are not ready to redefine our goals to that of the betterment of society, in addition to the personal gains. And again, why it is so? Because we do not live in the present moment. We either live in the past or in the future. We are not into present moment awareness. We are not mindful of our minds; we are not in mindfulness. Management schools have very recently, maybe a decade or two started talking about awareness and mindfulness, but it has still not trickled down to the boardrooms and shop floors. Till it trickles down, culture will remain only on lips and minds, but not visible in the enterprises. The culture depends upon the employers' and employees’ awareness and mindfulness states.
I am sure, a good number of people reading this blog would have either read or heard about the #searchinsideyourself initiative of Google in their beginning years and how it helped them. A book of the same name “Search inside yourself” by Mr. Chade-Meng Tan, Jolly good fellow (yes, it was his official title at Google) can be used as a reference book to further know about the concept that I will be talking about in my series of blogs in future. Anyone interested in having a discussion on this subject with me can book a free call with me on www.rajeevaranjan.com
Comentarios