Undermining Influences
What gets in the way of the shift towards a future-fit culture
“Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence.” — George Washington 1
I was recently posed the following question:
“Geoff – “I’ve heard you talk about various things that influence how organisational cultures form, and how they can be reformed. Can you clarify what those influences are and how they enable or undermine organisations on their journey to becoming what you call future-fit”?”
The 14-minute Future-Fit Culture Frequently Asked Questions video below responds.
The Seven Channels of Culture
The video above explores the following seven channels of culture: 2
Persuasive communication. This is where “a communicator attempts to introduce a change in the belief, attitude, or behaviour of others via messages that recipients receive with a degree of free choice”.
Participation. “Involvement in defining and shaping the future, allowing for the generation of good ideas and encouraging support and commitment for implementation”.
Role modelling. The “observation of social cues that people are often unaware of observing” in the attitudes and behaviours of influential individuals.
Expectancy. The most subtle of the seven channels, “often referred to as the inducement of self-fulfilling prophecies, in which expected behaviour becomes a reality”.
Structural Rearrangement. This is a traditional ‘go to’ lever that senior executives instinctively grab when attempting organisational change. It includes various forms of “altering work design, organisational structure, or core processes” such as restructuring, reorganisation, written rules, processes, procedures, policies, etc.
Extrinsic Rewards. Another traditional change lever, often pulled without much consideration of likely adverse side effects, “based on the assumption that the behaviour will not be maintained without extrinsic reinforcement”.
Coercion. Any practice “based on the assumption that people will comply because they see themselves as unable to leave the field in which the power is applied”.
The video also references this previous article:
Letter to Lord Stirling, (5 March 1780).
For more on the seven channels of culture see this previous article.