It's blowing in the wind

"Culture is like the wind. It is invisible, yet its effect can be seen and felt. When it is blowing in your direction it makes for smooth sailing. When it is blowing against you, everything is more difficult."

So poetically begins the article Changing Company Culture Requires a Movement, Not a Mandate in the Harvard Business Review. It's about culture in general and corporate culture in particular. How do managers and leaders create the culture they want? This is the essence of the article - a company culture cannot be created by a top-down mandate decided by management and then communicated. Culture is much more subtle than that. Achieving culture change requires the conviction of everyone who is part of the culture.

"Someone with authority can demand compliance, but they can't dictate optimism, trust, conviction, or creativity."

How to proceed? According to the authors of the article, it's about a movement and an existing will to change.

"Culture change needs to happen through amovement, not a mandate."

So the movement must come first, the breeding ground for change must be there. Something that moves and engages, perhaps even shakes a little. What that is can vary, it can be about the incentive for the company itself, why do we exist as a company? What is important to us? Are we achieving it? If not, what is needed to do it? Somewhere along the line, someone or someones sees something that is not working properly. They see something that could use improvement and take an initiative that others perceive as a positive way forward. The authors call them "movement makers", those who start small and achieve changes that inspire others and then spread like ripples.

What can we learn from these "movement makers" - what are their success factors? The authors of the article give some examples of what is important for success:

• Frame the issue - to be able to clearly frame the purpose - where are we going, to get everyone moving in the same direction.    
• Demonstrate quick wins - being able to show quick benefits and wins that attract and set examples of successful implementation.
• Harness networks - using networks, physical but just as often social networks, to spread ideas and demonstrate success.
• Create safe havens - to provide a breeding ground and opportunities for innovation and new thinking - perhaps what we usually talk about as psychological safety.

A movement maker often does not have the authority of a leader. A leader should make decisions, but when it comes to changing company culture, as mentioned, it's not a decision that's needed - it's an insight and a movement from the people it affects - Transform business by involving all the people, as is our mantra at Involve. After all, we know that it's the people who make it happen.

"It's important to start with actions, not new mission statements or company structures, because culture change only happens when people take action."