of ways, both positive and negative. For example, cultures that are not aligned with corporate strategy can lead to decreased loyalty, a lack of motivation, and high employee turnover. Healthy cultures, however, impart pride and a sense of purpose to employees, leading to increased productivity and a greater understanding of corporate goals, as with the employee at the car manufacturing plant.
Strategy, operational performance, and culture are all strongly related. High-performing companies often view culture as an enabler of strategy and performance, and want to create a culture that will support and enable employees in achieving those goals.
For example, a culture of learning fosters curiosity and exploration, and may enable development of the skills needed to run an innovation-oriented business. A culture of collaboration may result in high-performing teams.
And in some companies, a culture that values families and flexible work hours may result in higher loyalty and lower employee turnover.
Organizational culture is more than just an internal phenomenon, however. A company’s culture is often felt outside of its own four walls. In this way, culture becomes a very important part of a company’s brand.
So if a culture is not aligned with the brand, or the brand does not naturally arise from that culture, then companies can develop a credibility problem by promising one thing to the market, but delivering something else.
That’s why, in our experience, corporate culture, and the values upon which it is based, can be integrated into every aspect of a company, including leadership training and performance management. It should evolve as the world and economic markets change. And it should be communicated consistently, both internally and externally.