Organisational Change and Culture Development

Change is a key focus of organisational leadership.

From my perspective, organisational culture is best seen as a complex set of patterns of thinking and behaviour, historically put in place and reinforced by experience and practice. It is 'non-rational', company-specific, and well-embedded.

Most companies look to change and renew their corporate cultures, since they are powerful, pervasive and systemic. They are very difficult to change, despite our best intentions, as they serve to hold our organisations and our work relationships together. Staff are heavily invested in existing cultures, once they establish a place in the company and get to learn how it works and how to stay safe in it.

Change through leadership usually involves modifying the organisation's culture, and this task requires skilful influence, modelling, participation, and distinctly human approaches.

I work with my clients on culture change through applied leadership development in real change projects, and through learning how to apply those human approaches -

• Face-to-face engagement
• Symbolic actions and communications
• Story, including its many applications to
  •  Mapping existing culture
  •  Informal and formal presentations
  •  Creating metaphors for change
  •  Creating a strategic story
  •  Vision, purpose and identity
  •  Exemplary behaviours
  •  Positive thinking