“The power in culture comes together through your sub-cultures”
Did you know that subcultures don’t only show up in functional teams? That’s right, subcultures are formed when people with common beliefs, values, preferences for ways of working, identities and situations are drawn to each other, forming a group.
I have been working with multiple organisations recently around their culture and I believe to do the deep work, you need to delve into the sub-cultures within an organisation. To understand the belief systems, the rituals, the common threads and the unsaids.
How you determine your sub-culture can be tricky – culture in itself is a dynamic phenomenon that moves and shifts. But there are themes and patterns that you can pickup through focussed conversations, time and the space to listen to your people. The quality of these conversations matter, as is the ability to dig deeper with great questions.
Through my bespoke Culture Journeys, we get to dive in, explore and talk about what’s under the surface of a culture. We take the time to hold space and conversations with every corner of your organisation.
And for those sub-cultures, it’s not only about how people meet, make decisions and collaborate, it’s about what drives the behaviours to make decisions. Because behind behaviours sit emotions. Emotions are what enable people to show up fully, to live into the values, to perform at their best. Where your employees are experiencing a culture of undesired emotions, or worse of suppression (that’s a post for another day!) through leadership, or an emotionally challenged team mate, optimal performance is hindered, engagement takes a nose-dive and contagion takes over.
This is Emotional Culture.
I love talking about subcultures and can always find time to chat about this topic – reach out if you want to chat about your subcultures and what it can mean for your larger culture.
