Description
This session explores the process and role of culture change in creating and sustaining excellence. As Aristotle noted, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” High-performance organizational culture is defined, and key concepts are explored, along with the transformation of culture to ensure the changes to achieve excellence become embedded habits in the organization. Participants explore the key characteristics of a high-performance culture and how it combines traditionally competing values into a complementary culture. | Download Culture Slides
The series ends with an exploration of the individual leader. In this session, participants explore several questions regarding the characteristics of successful leaders of a transformation. Who are they? What are the common characteristics of successful leaders of sustainable excellence? What drives them? Why is the individual important to sustainable excellence? Participants will assess their own behaviors and motivations and attitudes and compare those to successful leaders of organization transformation. | Download Individual Leader Slides
Topics and Objectives
- Understand the five key values and characteristics of a high-performance culture: teamwork, excellence, valued employees, customer focus, and trust.
- Understand how to create a culture of complementary vs. competing values – the potential synergy of combining a clan culture with a market culture.
- Understand how the high-performance values manifest themselves in an organization’s practices including rituals, heroes, and symbols (class Netflix exercise)
- Understand the key characteristics of individual leaders who have successfully led large-scale organization transformations.
- Understand what motivates leaders of successful transformations to sustainable excellence and why these motivational and attitudinal patterns are important to achieving high performance.
- Understand your own characteristics and motivations (individual reflection and self-assessment exercise).
- Understand the theoretical foundations of the characteristics of individual leaders including transformational, transactional, servant, and spiritual leadership theories and concepts.
Recommended Preparation
1. Review the Netflix Culture Presentation Slides – Culture from Reed Hastings
2. Read the article – Larson, M. D., Latham, J. R., Appleby, C. A., & Harshman, C. L. (2012). CEO attitudes and motivations: Are they different for high performing organizations? Quality Management Journal. 19(4), 55-69. | Download
3. Mullins, Laurie J. (2010). Management and Organisational Behavior (9th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited. Chapter 19 Organisational Culture and Change.
Additional Resources
Latham, John R. (2013). A Framework for leading the transformation to performance excellence part II: CEO perspectives on leadership behaviors, individual leader characteristics, and organizational culture. Quality Management Journal, 20(3), 22. | Download
