Culture as the catalyst for change management

Talking about what truly matters in any Change Management initiative, undoubtedly culture plays a huge role in enabling the transformation.

In order to shift the cultural flavor to one that is more relevant and forward looking, engaging people at multiple levels and testing the effectiveness of your engagement becomes key.

The Iceberg metaphor

Culture is often represented via a metaphor of the iceberg, where what you see is the tip of the iceberg which typically are the symbols of culture such as slogans, branding, posters etc. whereas what truly makes up culture is hidden beneath the iceberg. These are values, beliefs, principles, vision, purpose, spirit, engagement and collaboration.

People’s beliefs, values, perceptions etc are shaped and influenced by a range of aspects such as education, ideologies, economics, geography and demographics as illustrated below.

Noting this, there has to be a confluence of a vision, goals, articulation of the strategy, engaging teams, demystifying the impact of the change and enabling the change in order for the transformation to be successful. Without the mindset change and cultural shift, a transformation seldom succeeds.

The article by Pwc referenced below sheds more light on this aspect.

Culture, Leadership and Change (pwc.com)

The importance of focusing on driving the cultural change cannot be underestimated, and to maximize ROI on transformation and Change management, ensure to direct over 50% of your change efforts towards driving the cultural change you need to make the transformation successful.