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Culture change: from talk to action

#NimbleVlog Season 02 Episode 01The topic of this new episode of the #NimbleVlog, which launches Season 02, is culture change. ORCHANGO’s president & co-founder Edmond Mellina talks about our Culture Modelling process. He shares five tips to move from talk to action…

Transcript

Reading time: 3 minutes

With this new episode, we are launching Season 02 of the #NimbleVlog. And today the topic is culture change; or, more specifically, the importance of developing what we, at ORCHANGO, call a Culture Model in order to focus and fuel the necessary evolution.

But first, let’s start by putting some context around the discussion. In these unprecedented times that we are living in, businesses are forced to rethink their strategy and become more agile. That requires culture change.

So here is the most frequent scenario we encounter when we start working with clients: a lot of very good discussions have been already happening before we come in about the kind of culture that is required in order to deal with the new reality. However, there are so many perspectives that things are becoming fuzzy. And people are getting confused which leads to either no action and paralysis because of the confusion; or diluted actions because too many culture change priorities. It’s not good…

At times, the opposite scenario is actually at play: the discussions are too focussed. People only talk about one or two things that need to change, which can be equally problematic.

In both scenarios, we guide our clients through what we call a Culture Modelling process; or, if they are already half-way there, we help them complete it properly.

Think about it as a funnel into which you pour all the perspectives: from the top executives; from all the other levels of leadership; from the employees; from the external stakeholders. And also our own perspectives and assessment as advisors.

And then the real work starts and it’s not easy. Because it is about: 1) distilling; 2) making choices; and 3) setting priorities. But what comes out of the process, what comes out of the funnel, is the Culture Model.

It highlights a maximum of 7 culture traits on which to focus the change efforts. And it’s a combination of things that are already there, that are important, and therefore that have to be protected; and new aspects, new culture traits, that we need to develop, reinforce and embed in the new corporate culture.

Without such clarity, balance and focus when you talk about culture change, it will be very difficult – if not impossible – to evolve strategically.

And as importantly, you need strong buy-in and alignment behind the Model; and you also need excitement about the prospect of bringing it to life.

And all that is a by-product of the culture modelling process.

And once you have that, you can start activating the levers for culture change. That is going to be the topic of Episode 02 of this new season of the #NimbleVlog. Stay tuned!


Pro tips

Tip #1 – Develop a Culture Model if discussions about culture change are getting confusing or too narrow.

Tip #2 – Use a funnel-like approach to: 1) Distill all the perspectives; 2) Make choices; and 3) Set priorities.

Tip #3 – Ensure the Culture Model has a maximum of 7 culture traits, both existing and to-be-developed.

Tip #4 – Use the Culture Modelling process to develop strong buy-in and alignment, as well as excitement.

Tip #5 – Bring the Culture Model to life by activating all available levers for culture change (watch #NimbleVlog S02 E02 “All levers for culture change are equal, but…”).


Playlist with all the #NimbleVlog episodes

Headshot Of Edmond Mellina, ORCHANGO's President & Co-Founder

Edmond is ORCHANGO's president & co-founder.

He is internationally respected for his expertise in nimble change leadership and culture change. For the past 30 years, he has been executing strategic transformations, building agile capabilities, and advising clients across sectors in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

He is a former corporate transformation executive in drastically changing industries: CIO at Delta Hotels when Expedia disrupted the hotel business; and VP Corporate Development & General Manager USA for the technology business of Envoy Communication Group when design and marketing agencies started to become digital.

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