Pulse Point – ReCulturing – A Must Read for Organizations to Evolve Through Strategy, Purpose, and Culture Connection
Melissa Daimler’s book, “ReCulturing,”1 is a must read for any organization who wants to continuously evolve by having their strategy, purpose, and workplace culture in alignment. She defines ReCulturing as “the continuous act of redesigning and reconnecting behaviors, processes, and practices to each other and to the organizational system.” (Daimler, 2022, p.11) Daimler notes that just as “strategy evolves, your culture evolves and refers to ReCulturing as a mindset about culture. It leverages the playbook we had but updates it for working in the modern hybrid work environment. It is a framework with a set of practical and integrated actions that can be done by the CEO or the finance manager or the talent coordinator or the systems engineer. It includes practical steps for ReCulturing. It includes criteria for:
Defining what good behaviors look like
The core processes into which those behaviors need to be embedded
The daily practices needed to reinforce and strengthen the culture.” (Daimler, 2022, p.13)
Early on in her book, Daimler discusses culture and the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on workplace cultures. Every time I hear someone talk about how their culture took a hit because of many team members not physically being in the same building any longer, I often wonder if they have really thought about their culture. In her opening chapter she notes, “turbulence has prompted us, as a society, as human beings, to reconfigure, reprioritize, and rest on what we might value as more meaningful work, and ultimately, a more meaningful life. What employees always wanted was flexible work hours and opportunities for learning and growing. What they often got were yoga classes and a bottomless beer keg. Many companies were able to provide the trifecta of physical comforts, development opportunities, and the promise of being part of something that was going to make a positive impact on the works. These efforts have allowed a lot of companies to evolve, even thrive. Yet, like all crises, 2020 exposed who had done the work beforehand. It amplified differences, and in some cases, even strengthened the companies that had built a strong cultural foundation. It exposed the ones who didn’t practice the values posted on their walls and website.” (Daimler, 2022, pgs.24-25) I agree wholeheartedly!
If the above sounds interesting to you, or made your light bulb come on, or something along those lines, I highly recommend reading this book! Daimler goes on to first say that you must understand what’s going on before moving forward and she recommends understanding 4 gaps before ReCulturing:
The gap between culture and strategy
The gap between values and behaviors
The gap between behaviors and processes
The gap between behaviors and practices
She notes that “when the gaps are closed, all employees have the same playbook and can focus on the game instead of trying to figure out the rules of the game.” (Daimler, 2022, p. 61)
This book is great at offering a ton of insight, stories, and practical ways to think about and implement this process, so I won’t go into all the details – read the book for that. 😊 I do want to highlight a couple points that I thought were good reminders for all of us. One of those has to do with the famous saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” She notes that “instead of “eating strategy,” culture and strategy need to eat breakfast together – maybe even lunch and an occasional dinner.” (Daimler, 2022, p. 62) And later goes on to say, “a book on culture without a link to strategy and purpose is like a book about exercise without anything about nutrition or mental health. Exercise is to strategy what nutrition is to culture and mental health to purpose. When we take the time to identify our purpose (our “why”) with our strategy (our “what”) and without behaviors, processes, and practices (our “how”), work becomes easier because we understand how the entire system works together. These parts reinforce and strengthen each other.” (Daimler, 2022, pgs. 77-78) I love this thought process!
The second area is around values and behaviors. Many organizations have a list of core values and display them on their website, note them in their onboarding training, and plaster them across the walls. But many organizations don’t take the time to describe what this value looks like or what the expectations are for these. Daimler notes that “ReCulturing includes 6 criteria-based questions that, when answered, will be easily understood and easier to integrate into your processes and practices:
Is the behavior observable?
Is the behavior single-barreled?
Is the behavior inclusive?
Does the behavior include all stakeholders?
Is the behavior stated in a positive frame?
Is the behavior aspirational?” (Daimler, 2022, p. 114)
One of the expressions I use often is “what can you control?” We can’t control other people, but we can control ourselves – our words, actions, etc. In the last chapter of the book, Daimler discusses that “ReCulturing starts and ends with you.” (Daimler, 2022, p. 221) This is my challenge to you – what is the first step can you take to align your workplace strategy, purpose, and culture? I hope you grab a copy of the book and share your thoughts with me!
To assess where you and your organization are in your employee engagement culture journey, download my “Culture Pulse: Employee Engagement Questionnaire” here: https://www.badeauconsulting.com/culturepulseeequestionnaire
Need someone to dig into employee engagement and leadership work with you? Reach out for coaching, training, or consulting here: https://www.badeauconsulting.com/
I look forward to providing monthly pulse points to help you stay up to date with how the workplace culture scene is evolving.
Jaclyn Badeau is the Founder and President of Badeau Consulting. She specializes in employee engagement initiatives that help companies inspire confidence back into their team for innovation and growth. Jaclyn’s background in cultivating high performing teams, delivering coaching and mentoring, serving as a global business risk advisor, and facilitating internal and external leadership training to a global workforce gives her the unique perspective of what employees need and what works. She is also a multi award recipient and passionate about sharing her expertise and knowledge in volunteer advisory and leadership positions roles for many associations and not-for-profits.
About Pulse Point
Pulse Point is a monthly blog to stay up to date with how the workplace culture scene is evolving.
#employeeengagement #culture #emotionalintelligence #EQ #leadership #ThinkAboutItThursdays #PulsePoint #motivate #inspire #lead #empower #happiness #cpa #ceo #WomanEntrepreneur #tip #personaldevelopment #entreprenuer #peoplesuccess #coach #facilitator #speaker #consultant #hr #confidence #innovation #growth
1 Daimler, M. (2022). ReCulturing: Design Your Company Culture to Connect with Strategy and Purpose for Lasting Success. McGraw Hill.