Delivering Cultural Shift Workshops

Buongiorno!

I’ve just returned from two weeks in Italy and France, delivering culture shift workshops for a French-based, global company. What an incredible experience! Having run a global culture survey back in in March, these workshops were for the local regions to digest the meaning of the results, and to understand how they can individually and collectively take action to build a more constructive culture.

This company sees culture as a strategic asset. They have just launched a new growth ambition, and have specifically named culture as one of three key pillars to success – alongside a clear strategy, and a distinct new brand identity.

The leader of this organisation has always understood that you can have a well-considered strategy, and a compelling brand promise, but if you don’t have the culture of empowered and accountable people – it will never be fully realised.

So we took the culture program on a roadshow to the leaders of regions with the largest employee populations – Milan in the North of Italy,  Sant’Antonino in Switzerland, Pisticci in the South of Italy, and Lille in the north of France.

So what did I learn about designing and delivering culture workshops in different regions of the world, with different traditions, languages, and cultural histories?

We all want the same thing – a culture where we can be our best.

Everywhere in the world – our desire is the same. We all want to work in a team and organisation that expects us to grow ourselves, grow others, collaborate, create, and make a difference. We all want to work in a constructive culture where we are encouraged to bring our best, every day. For more on this – listen to this podcast.

There are cultural quirks unique to geographic regions that must be respected

Some cultures also value what Human Synergistics would call more defensive styles that match with their cultural traditions and histories. In France and Italy – a healthy degree of scepticism, challenging the status quo, criticism and open questioning is not only normal, but desirable. It’s how they show their passion! However – without the balance of supportive and encouraging behaviours – too much of this can shut down idea sharing and collaboration.

To create change, each individual needs to know how they are personally responsible for culture

Individuals need to personally connect with their role in contributing to the culture. We achieved this by asking every individual in the workshop to self-assess, using a valid and reliable psychometric assessment (the LSI for those who are interested). It wasn’t until everyone observed their own profile that they realised they each had a role to play in creating change. We each influence and are influenced by culture.  But we can only control ourselves, so taking personal responsibility (rather than waiting for others to act first) is the only way we can create a shift across a whole team.

It’s the little things that stack up to make big differences

It’s the small things, done consistently well, that matter. Bringing a more positive attitude to work, addressing conflicts constructively and directly, assuming positive intent in others (even when they are criticising!), involving others in decision making, taking time with people to provide context and direction, giving and receiving feedback openly, and spending time on the tasks that give you more fulfilment. If everyone takes just one step each day, the compounding effect is enormous. More trust is built, more ideas are shared, more problems are tackled, and more opportunities to innovate are created.

Create culture plans that matter on a local level

The company has a big picture culture plan for change, but the actions must be taken within teams and regions. Each region discussed how they would coordinate the cascading of strategy from the business to their teams, step up social and connection activities as a region, allow for more training and learning opportunities, and improve their communications of both the wins and the lessons as they progress through their goals. There were also some regionally specific actions to take, such as how to involve more sub-groups of employees in decision making, or how to redesign roles to provide for more autonomy and significance. Overall, the action plans included simple-to-do, concrete activities that could be led by local leaders in partnership with HR business partners.

Language is a minor barrier

On a more pragmatic note – I was concerned about how well the people of Italy and France would connect with the material in English! Lucky for me – their English was much better than they perceived it to be. But I still made a big effort to make the content accessible. All the slide decks and printed materials were converted into their language using AI tools. I used sub-titles that converted my speech to the local language (a feature available in some programs).  I slowed my pace significantly, and we often paused to interpret as we went along (the sub-titles were OK, not perfect). All my flipcharts were written by me in English, and by the local HR support person in the local language. Making an effort to connect with your multi-lingual audience is a sign of respect and empathy! These steps allowed us to overcome the language barriers and ensured an engaging learning experience for everyone.

Culture change takes time and effort – but the result is worth it. A collective of people who feel more empowered and accountable is an intangible asset that delivers measurable results.