The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

60 / LEADING OTHERS

Ensuring cultural fit

Analyzing organizational

culture

The cultural imperatives of an

organization are often not written down

or even discussed, but all successful

managers must learn what to do and

what not to do in their organizations.

In fact, the better the match between

the manager’s personal style and the

organization’s culture, the more

successful the manager is likely to be.

Founders create culture in three ways.

First, they hire and keep employees who

think and feel the way they do. Second,

founders indoctrinate and socialize

these employees to their way of thinking.

Third, founders act as role models, and

their personality becomes central to the

culture of the organization.

An organization’s culture, or personality, refers to the key

characteristics that the organization values and that distinguish it

from other organizations. Managers need to be aware of organizational

culture because they are expected to respond to the dictates of

the culture themselves and also to develop an understanding

of the culture in those they are managing.

of under-30s cite organizational

culture as important when

choosing their employers

75 %

Discerning the culture

Many organizations have given little

thought to their culture and do not readily

display it. To try to find out more about

your organization’s culture, you might:

• Observe the physical surroundings.
  Look at signs, pictures, styles of dress,
  length of hair, the degree of openness
  among offices, and how those offices
  are furnished and arranged.
  -^ Listen to the language. For example,^
  do managers use military terms, such
  as “take no prisoners,” and “divide
  and conquer”? Or do they speak about
  “intuition,” “care,” and “our family
  of customers”?
  -^ Ask different people the same questions
  and compare their answers. You might
  ask: how does this company define
  success? For what are
  employees most
  rewarded? Who is
  on the fast track
  and what did they
  do to get there?

US_060-061_Ensuring_Cultural_Fit.indd 60 30/05/16 3:01 pm