Revealing Organizational Culture
Background
In the face of on-going pressure for nonprofit organizations to deliver results and financially thrive, a deep knowledge about what comprises and organization’s identity and drives organizational behavior gives a nonprofit a leading edge. We refer to these elements of an organization as its “culture”. Every organization has one. It begins the minute an organization is established. Five years of research on nonprofit organizational culture offers new evidence that when an organization understands the deepest elements in its culture and uses this information when designing organizational strategies, it may be more effective at generating desired and valued results.
Organizational Culture Defined
We define organizational culture as a “pattern of basic assumptions – invented, discovered, or developed by a group as it learns to be successful in solving problems and responding to its environment. The group creates systems, practices and behaviors that are taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel.” (Adapted from Edgar Schein, 2004)
Every organizational culture has three distinct layers. The first layer at the “tip of the iceberg” is “artifacts”; these are things we can see such as rituals, practices and structures, etc. The second layer, where the iceberg meets the waterline, is “espoused values and beliefs”; this is the internal perspective that frames the organization’s approach. The third layer hidden below the surface is deep unconscious assumptions. In the revealing organizational process we work through the first two layers of culture to get below the surface to the elements of culture that are the most difficult to see and express.
Revealing Organizational Culture (ROC) Process Overview
Revealing organizational culture happens in four phases.
Phase I – have a conversation with organization leadership to understand the organization and its unique context.
Phase II – define a problem to solve with an understanding of organizational culture; facilitate work sessions where the group completes a series of activities to:
- Identify key organization artifacts
- Explore organization core values and beliefs
- Tell organization’s story about its creation, periods of survival, and the heroes and heroines that represent the organization’s values, strengths and mission
- Share graphic images that represent the organization’s identity and experience
As each activity/exercise is completed, fill in a section of an organizational culture mind map. (A mind map is a tool for seeing a holistic organization picture. ) When the mind map is finished themes are distinguished. These themes are the pathway down below the organizational culture surface. Finally, the themes are analyzed with a set of strategic questions. This brings the “hidden truths” to the surface so they can be named and described in terms of benefits and risks for the organization.
Phase III – return to the problem; specifically developing strategies for solution; these strategies factor in the “truths” about the organization the ROC process revealed.
Phase IV – it is up to each organization to continue using and applying the information about its organizational culture to develop new ways to strengthen its performance.
