By Celemma Lara, Coach, Strategy Consultant, Strategic Connections, Inc
What would you think if someone told you that you have to adapt your foot to fit your shoes?
If the shoes fit you, you wear them, if not, you wear others. Correct?
Walking with shoes that are not your size is something really uncomfortable.
If the shoes are too small for you, after a few steps you will feel the pain that increases more and more, and you decide whether to take them off or suffer.
If they are big, you will tolerate a little more, however, your feet will slide forward, at first, they do not bother you so much until your shoes start to come off, and after enough time you feel pain in your fingers.
The ideal thing to do is to get a shoe that fits your feet. If you can’t find shoes that work for you in a store, then you’ll go to others, until you get them.
The same thing happens with values. In this analogy the feet are the perceived values of your company, that is, the organizational culture.
You cannot pretend to develop a successful business strategy, have alliances, and have high-performance teams if you do not align them with the existing culture.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” says Peter Drucker
The fundamental reason is that the objectives of organizations are achieved by the people who make it up. And the daily interaction between them and the modeling of their leaders create the way of working and approaching the different situations of the company, that is, the culture.
If people are the ones who create the changes and obtain the results, it is relevant and essential to focus on generating well-being and encouraging the motivation of the collaborators to create commitment. This is done only if we take into account what is important for each of the members of the company.
How can it be achieved?
Identifying the existing business culture, making the necessary adjustments, taking into account the values of its members, aligning strategies, objectives and teams with that culture and evaluating the organizational climate.
Ignoring the impact of values in your organization is trying to put on shoes that are not your size. Sooner or later the negative consequences will be seen.
I imagine you are wondering right now if your strategies, teams, and goals are providing your organization with a shoe fit for it, or do you expect the company culture to adapt to them.
What shoes does your company have on?
