Capturing your culture implies that it’s not in your possession……yet. Defining your culture is the first step but unfortunately, culture is not something you acquire and then display on a shelf. Turning your dream culture into realty is a never ending process. It would be nice if we could just lock onto the target and forget about it, but capturing your culture is a constant assessment of where you are, where the goal is and how to get there. Knowing exactly where you want to be is worthless to you if you don't know where you are. Knowing where you are is really the most difficult part of the process. We all have a reality in our minds but it's rarely as accurate as we think and only through much feedback and adjustment can we get closer to reality with our thoughts. The "where are you now" part requires lots of assessments in numerous different ways and then lots of introspection and candor if there is any chance of moving closer to the culture goals we desire. Let's face it, it is hard to take a critical look at ourselves, it's so much easier to take a critical look at others. That is why honesty and humility are usually a big part of a culture that creates the sense of safety that enables such honest self assessment. When there is more than one opinion of how the culture should be acted out (and there always is) then it is even harder to make it happen. However, there is hope, the very act of gathering feedback and soliciting input on a regular basis tends to open our minds to change and improvement. It must be regular and consistent in order for it to be perceived as sincere and it is impossible to get a picture of your location with only one assessment. The effort to gather input must be followed up with visible and genuine efforts to move the needle closer to where it should be by rewarding and bringing attention to the behaviors and attitudes that exemplify the culturural values. That's why a solid infrastructure and scheduled recognition events must be implemented to support the drive toward the culture you desire. Recognition must come from the executive team but also it's vital that the entire workforce is empowered to reward and celebrate each others accomplishments in support of the cultural values! What gets measured gets managed and the best way to create the unique innovative and productive culture that you desire is to start measuring where your culture is in relation to where you want it to be. Then you can create the plan to get you there!
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