Company Culture: Who is Responsible?
Dr. Elliott Jaques first introduced the concept of culture in the organizational context in 1951 and defines this as:
As one scrolls through a company’s website, values are prominently shared and usually comprise of some subset of the following popular words — Integrity, Boldness, Honesty, Truth, Trust, Accountability, Transparency, Commitment to Customers, Passion, Fun, Humility, Continuous Learning, Ownership, Constant Improvement, Leadership, Diversity, Inclusion, Innovation, Quality, Teamwork, Win etc…
…but what is also an integral part of an organization’s culture are those unsaid rules that are met with social approval or disapproval, thereby determining what behaviors get rewarded and what has consequences. This is what, in reality, defines your organization’s culture.
For instance, organization hires Bold, Innovative entrepreneurs but places them in a risk averse context where every decision needs to be approved by a committee of a few busy execs.
For instance, organization says they value inclusion but acknowledges and advances the contributions of a select few.
For instance, organization makes a big deal of promoting teamwork and collaboration. But all the rewards are focused on individual performance.
For instance, organization wants to promote continuous learning but excludes the executive team.
For instance, organization says they support work-life balance but in individual conversations employees are told that taking flex time and speaking openly about family commitments is equated to lack of ambition.
So then how do we create a culture that is authentic, healthy and equitable? And who owns it?
With increasing scrutiny on bias in the workplace and CEO priorities now expanding beyond shareholder value, companies need to lead with progressive and inclusive cultures to attract diverse talent. At Square Circle our work with clients globally had led us to developing a unique approach to support this important work.
The Square Circle Approach
DEIB Framework: Our work is anchored in behavioral science and is designed to support consistent, long term results. Our proprietary Belonging assessment enables your org to create real change based on real data. We help you benchmark your current state with relevant data and stories and integrate this into your dashboard.
Vision: While the CEO must own the culture, at Square Circle, we believe that it is important for all employees to co-create a culture that they can be proud of. We work with organizations to craft a unique experience where everyone is invited to collaborate in constructing a vision for their equitable workplace. Anchoring in a powerful vision helps replace a hand-me-down culture playbook crafted by a few to “come make us look good”, with an invitation to all employees to: “Let’s cocreate.” This is the true essence of Belonging.
Awareness: One of the fundamental skills of being a DEIB professional is to meet a person wherever they are in their awareness journey. We build a solid foundation for participants to launch their journey toward transformative growth by facilitating light bulb moments through engaging, innovative activities and events. This phase is where we spend the most time working with your employees. Instead of switching quickly into solution mode by offering quick fix trainings or workshops that must fit busy schedules, we help you invest in educating everyone to understand the Why Before the How.
Empower: We help develop inclusive leaders and support them with tools to lead equitably and create equitable processes and policies. We do not adopt a “One Size Fits All” approach when empowering individuals or offering culture solutions. Each company, department and team has a unique microculture that is carefully studied and considered by our experts.
Amplify: Externally, show up as an organization that cares about their employees and community while internally being on track to create a culture where DEIB is integrated into the DNA of your organization.
Recently we’ve seen the former CEO’s of CrossFit, Away, The Wing, Pinterest, Ubisoft and several others being called out or having to step down for perpetuating a culture of Othering. So yes, the responsibility of owning their culture lies with the CEO. They need to set the tone, role model bridging behaviors and prioritize equity as much as generating shareholder value. But the practice of inclusion is a responsibility that each employee must own.
Our research shows that the difference between an organization where employees are thriving and one where Othering is prevalent is simple — persistent prioritization, adaptability and organizational leaders & employees proactively investing in creating a culture of Belonging For All.
Why? Because Belonging Matters!
