Our largely male executive team is not interested in paying anything more than lip service to real culture change. They constantly frustrate my best attempts in this area, and I'm at my wits end and thinking about quitting. What should I do?
Our largely male executive team is not interested in paying anything more than lip service to real culture change. They constantly frustrate my best attempts in this area, and I'm at my wits end and thinking about quitting. What should I do?
– HR manager in insurance, Sydney
The underlying key statement here is that organisational change will happen once there is buy in/acceptance from the CEO, coupled with support from the senior executive team. Therefore the first agent of change has to be the most senior person – the CEO/MD of the organisation. The executive team will look to the CEO for vision and guidance. In this particular case it is of paramount importance that HR presents to the CEO well thought-out and clear reasons for the need to change the culture.
The prime reason for any organisation to change its culture is to ensure sustainability, and there are very few CEOs who won’t listen to that reasoning. There is also enough documented evidence which supports the view that leadership drives culture which in turn drives performance, and the CEO of the organisation needs to be convinced that their leadership styles and those of the executive team will facilitate cultural change.
Unfortunately most executive teams collectively don’t perceive that they need to develop their leadership skills, however, this perception/belief changes overnight once the CEO vocalises the fact that he needs to change. The lip service from the executive team can be turned into positive enthusiasm in if they can be convinced that they will benefit immensely by learning about, and improving upon their leadership skills – again following the example of the CEO.
So develop a terrific convincing argument that the CEO can use to convince the executive team that culture change is (probably) the only way to ensure sustainability and give it a sense of urgency – get outside help to create that burning platform if necessary. And if all else fails take what you have learned in the above process to an organisation that will appreciate your skills. It’s not about quitting – it’s about following your true passion.
By Alan McGilvray, Axis People Development Facilitators. [email protected]
