Organisational culture has often been described as 'what people say and do when they think no-one is watching'. At 4D we've often found there’s a gap between a company’s stated values and mission statements and the shared values, ideas and beliefs of the people working there. Sometimes this gap is huge!
A recent International survey by Cubiks suggested that today many recruiters are increasingly concerned with finding candidates that fit with their organisation’s values and beliefs. 82% of people responding to Cubiks survey said ‘cultural fit should definitely be part of the recruitment process.’ However only 54% of employees surveyed felt their organization had a clearly defined culture.
This presents a huge challenge for todays leaders - both existing and emerging - when a company’s culture, as expressed in the feelings, thoughts and behaviours of it’s people, is vital to differentiation in an increasingly crowded market place. So who’s responsibility is it to define, create and support a company culture?
We would say, and I think most people would agree, that it absolutely has to start at the leadership level.
As the global economy continues in a state of flux we are seeing increasing levels of economic migration as the good and the great of developed and developing nations begin seeking new opportunities. If they are not available in their own country they will go where the action is. From a leadership perspective embracing cultural diversity will be an absolute must in order to create a sustainable, organisational culture supported by a globally focussed business model.
However, it can become extremely challenging when people holding differing belief systems, worldviews, and levels of complexity of thinking encounter each other in the work place. The main challenge being that people are often only able to understand concepts, models and ideas based on the perspective of their own value systems. And it is widely recognised by any psychologists claiming a level of expertise that we the people will nearly always process information through the lense of our own world view.
This can make communication between people difficult and as a result trying to establish an aligned culture may become a fruitless task. Especially when dealing with non-negotiables in the work place.
This challenge requires a new type of leadership. Integral Leadership.
But what is Integral leadership?
It means being able to take an integrated perspective on leading and managing diverse groups by establishing an integrated culture that recognises the values and beliefs of individuals and how an authentic culture emerges through natural synergy. A leaders responsibility is to nurture that emergence and guide it towards it's natural evolution. This begins with acknowledging that everyone has something of value to say about the nature of reality and the given life and work conditions within a community. But this is not pluralistic leadership. Neither is it leadership by consensus. The Integral leader listens to everyones opinion and then applies relational systems thinking to identify who should do what with whom, when, where and why based on a systemic perspective that considers the culture as a whole.
What follows are some key capabilities that, for us define Integral leadership, beginning with:
A high level of self awareness - This means having a clear and thorough understanding of the 4 dimensions and two perspectives of human development and expression.
A Flex and Flow mindset -This means being able to creatively adapt and respond to the rapidly changing conditions of life and work today.
A Network mindset- This means developing the capacity for systems thinking, understanding the emotional dynamics of networked relationships and how intrinsic values like trust, integrity, empathy and spirituality constitute human networks.
Communication Skills- How to communicate in a way that inspires and motivates a diverse group of individuals by communicating 4 dimensionally.
A clear and compelling vision - about who should lead whom to do what, how and why? It might not always be you.
Understanding how and why different people are motivated by different values.
Understanding why values, ideas and beliefs take hold and spread in an organisation.
Understanding what personal and professional development really means to each and every person you lead.
Understanding when to lead a diverse group of people through change.
Understanding how to communicate with people in ways that reflect back to them their deepest values.
The ability to model leadership behaviours that empowers and motivates people to take responsibility and achieve their full potential.
The intention and commitment to build an innovative culture that aligns the values and drives of individuals, and teams. An Integral leader is able to encourage, support and develop others towards generating and releasing their energy and creativity in alignment with a leadership vision and the organisation’s purpose, values and drives.
Our approach to leading, creating and supporting organisational culture is inspired by (and based on) the theory of Spiral Dynamics - an evolutionary, developmental model and map that outlines how people living different value systems will look for different modes of leadership.
For example:
Purple Leaders are nearly always part of a direct lineage of succession and are often the ‘elders’ of a group as Purple communities are close knit and fearful of others who are different. Leadership is driven by appealing to tribal loyalities.
Red leadership is about the absolute ‘power’ and rule of the individual. Leading from the front the Red leader demands respect and always comes first, even if it’s at the expense of those being led. Leadership is dictatorial and ego-driven.
Blue leadership is driven to serve a higher authority and observe and obey absolute laws and rules. While offering a degree of order, authority, predictability and stability this form of leadership can sometimes be inflexible and pedantic in today’s shifting market place.Blue leadership is compliance driven.
Orange Leadership is entrepreneurial and innovative but can sometimes be Machiavellian. This energy is driven to succeed at all costs. Showing emotion may be considered a waste of time and money. Similar to Red, this mode of leadership is primarily self-seeking. Orange Leadership is achievement driven.
Green leadership seeks interpersonal relationships. Honesty, empathy, authenticity and trust is highly valued. However this mode of leadership on it’s own can lead to challenging levels of “political correctness”. Green Leadership is primarily people driven.
A leader energised by the Yellow value set is able to see the whole spiral of human differences within an organization from a values perspective, and knows how to communicate with people at their respective levels. Cultural barriers such as race, religion, gender, age and lifestyles that can divide and create conflict are managed, transcended and included in a syngergistic approach that serves the whole system. A leader expressing Yellow asks who is best suited to do what and why? Yellow Leadership is flex and flow driven and therefore Integral.
In summary - Integral leaders Define culture as an interconnected system of values, Create networks of shared commitment, reciprocity and trust and Support culture through communication, flexibility and openness.
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