We did a series of focus groups, interviews, and a feedback survey with a division of a large company to help Eric, the division manager, determine why their culture wasn’t performing at the level he wanted. We found that the shortfalls in the division’s levels of engagement, service, and productivity could be traced to the leadership team’s effectiveness. Their individual and collective leadership was weak.
After reviewing a summary of our findings with Eric, he recognized the problem. And he realized it started with his own leadership behaviors. If he didn’t change, he’d fall in to that trap of expecting different results while continuing to do the same things. So Eric built a detailed personal development plan to elevate his leadership.
We then planned an off-site retreat for Eric’s senior leadership team to review the feedback and establish leadership and culture development action plans. On the first morning of the retreat, Eric started with reflections on his own feedback and the personal development plans he’d started — which many on his team had already begun to notice. I then discussed all the research showing that an organization’s culture ripples out from the management team leading it. Eric then handed out a folder printed with the company logo and the words “Change Kit: Change Begins Here” on the outside. Each manager opened the folder and found a large mirror inside.
“Making Change Work … while the Work Keeps Changing” is a research report from IBM summarizing interviews and online surveys they conducted of over 1,400 leaders responsible for designing, creating, and implementing change in their organizations. What’s the most effective means of changing attitudes and behaviors? The number one factor — mentioned by 73% of respondents — was the leader’s role modeling.
Jack Zenger presented a complimentary (no charge) webinar on Change Culture by Upgrading Leadership Development. As the pace of change accelerates, most organizations realize the need for their culture to keep pace with new technology, evolving markets and broader societal changes.
The webinar identifies and examine methodologies to develop effective leaders and simultaneously build a positive cultural change. Join Jack as he discusses:
- What is culture?
- Options for changing cultures
- Criticism of leadership development and how to address their shortcomings
- Combining leadership development and work
- Building leadership development principles into HR systems
- Methods of delivering leadership development
Click here to view this webinar now.
Culture change strategies, programs, branding, and communication campaigns can help shift “how we do things around here.” But the single biggest impact is leadership behavior.
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