Rip Up the Rule Book

Managers cannot 'manage' culture. Avoid these eight pitfalls as you champion new ways of working.

Be sidetracked by the mechanics

We know culture as ‘the way we do things here’. Yet day-to-day practice emerges from people’s beliefs about what is right. Change is first a question of psychology, not of engineering.

Invest time and energy to understand people, as individuals and as members of teams

Oversimplify what is complex

To build an office is complicated: an architect can follow known scripts to reach a concrete outcome. Culture is complex: humans are hard to predict, the ground moves, no steps guarantee success.

Treat culture not as a problem to solve, but as living terrain you help others to navigate

Demonise the past

We design shifts in culture to make the workplace better, so it is natural to talk about how old ways fall short. But this leaves people feeling bad about past experiences, and many then dig their heels in.

Emphasise positive aspects of the future you aim to create; show how it benefits people

Underestimate people’s anxiety

Familiar practices allow a sense of belonging, a platform to use skills, and a community of relationships. Fear of losing place or status in the new order makes people slow to adapt.

Offer everyone a forum, ideally in person, to voice worries; give timely, meaningful responses

Try to own all the change

Culture shifts do not take place at leadership off-sites or in the boardroom. Whilst managers may develop a vision (preferably together with team members), practice evolves from the ground up.

Let colleagues with hands-on knowledge beat a path to the future; your job is to light the way

Answer everyone’s questions

When promoted on years of experience, managers are often expected to provide all the answers. But this can overshadow others’ expertise and bind teams to ways that fit poorly with the future.

Use your experience not to give answers, but to ask questions that encourage fresh thinking

Throttle progress with red tape

We overuse bureaucratic methods – tasks and milestones, charts and measurements, committees and emails – to ‘manage change’. But this glorified admin saps energy and limits what is possible.

Structure dialogue about progress, hold others to account; avoid micro-managing

Fall prey to hypocrisy

Culture revolves around beliefs, yet shows itself in decisions, words, and actions. People soon stop listening to managers who do not practise what they preach.

Be a visible role model for the culture you espouse, in both work and social settings

In Confidence

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