![\"Edgar](\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/Edgar_Schein_Culture3-701x710.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI hear people referring to the culture of a place as being \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d, managers and consultants speak of changing culture, and employees speak of being part of culture.\u00a0 What is this culture they all refer to? My studies introduced me to Edgar Schein\u2019s answer, and confirm that the task of getting culture \u201cright\u201d is a tough target to hit.<\/p>\n
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I have a lot of respect for Edgar Schein<\/a>. The guy has a Masters in psychology from Stanford, a PhD in social psychology from Harvard, he was a captain in the U.S. Army, and has been a professor of Organisational Psychology and Management at MIT. \u00a0With those credentials, I figure I can use his depiction of culture<\/a> as a good starting point.<\/p>\n Schein presents culture as a series of assumptions<\/em><\/strong> a person makes about the group in which they participate. These assumptions are grouped into three levels<\/em><\/strong>, each level becoming more difficult to articulate and change.\u00a0 These assumptions can be seen through:<\/p>\n 1) artefacts<\/strong> (what you experience with your senses, such as language, styles, stories, and published statements);<\/p>\n 2) espoused beliefs and values<\/strong> (ideals, goals and aspirations); and<\/p>\n 3) basic underlying beliefs<\/strong> (taken for granted conditions).<\/p>\n Each assumption can\u00a0have a book written about it.\u00a0 The bullet point summary is below:<\/p>\n Assumptions about external<\/strong>\u00a0adaptation issues<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Assumptions about managing internal integration<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deeper cultural assumptions<\/strong><\/p>\n With so many facets, you can see why changing culture is such a challenge.\u00a0 Culture is a protective mechanism.\u00a0 Each assumption works in collaboration to reinforce and support the other assumptions.\u00a0 You try and change one in isolation, the other assumptions have a propensity to reinforce established behaviour.<\/p>\n The assumptions are also driven by the individuals or groups who have influence within the organisation.\u00a0\u00a0If you want to change the culture, you frequently have to change the leaders, either in their character or physically replace them.\u00a0 The former is often so hard that the latter is the only option.<\/p>\n If you are in a management or leadership role, you need to be able to take a step back and jot down how your organisation reflects each of the assumptions mentioned above.\u00a0 Just be aware that your response will be tainted by your own influence on that culture.\u00a0 This is where the value of an external unbiased perspective can be valuable.<\/p>\n Culture is something we all experience but have difficulty defining.\u00a0 Hopefully, this helped provide a model to explain why we do what we do when we get together for common goals.<\/p>\nThe Assumptions<\/h2>\n
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Changing culture<\/h2>\n
Part 2: Embrace your Organisational Shadow Culture<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"