3.6. Principles of effective cultural change

In order to effectively bring about cultural change within an organisation, five key principles should guide your approach:

Strategically aligned – The changes sought need to be clearly consistent with the stated vision and mission of the organisation.

Collaborative – For culture to shift it is important to engage key individuals across all levels of the organisation if there is going to be ownership of the importance of shifting the way things are done around here.

Focused – Clear attention needs to be given to the behaviours to be encouraged and those that need to be challenged.

Open – The process of changing the culture needs to be open in its engagement with people across the organisation and provide opportunities for people to challenge and question as this is part of the process of integrating the new approach for them.

Demonstrated – The cultural shift needs to be demonstrated through people’s actions and attitude.

(Success Works, 2008:10)

Tip

In promoting a shift in culture the following approaches are critical:

modelling positive behaviour
having a mind-set that is positive and solutions orientated
being proactive
challenging negative behaviours displayed by others.

(Simpson, 2008b)

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3.6. Principles of effective cultural change