Arches are beautiful and date back millennia in architecture. However, structurally they depend on a Keystone in the centre at the top for them to fulfil their function in creating a door or entryway. We need to build a foundation in any structure, then to lift up the structure and create an opening to the interior, we need a Keystone.
To me, Culture is a Keystone for your business, yet this week I learned that fewer leaders than I thought had recognised this before the pandemic changed so much with people working away from central offices. Where did I learn this? I was on a webinar seeking to learn more on the topic of “How to create and maintain an inclusive culture with a hybrid workforce“.I was quite stunned to hear one of the panellists say that, over the last 18 months of the pandemic, that so many leaders had realised that “your office is not your culture” and that it is important to get clear on what your culture IS, as well as to document it.
So, the first thing I took from that webinar was a feeling of: “Your office is not your Culture. What? Really This is news to ANY business leader?”, yet apparently it was.
This shocked me somewhat, for two reasons. First, I’ve been #WFA (Working from Anywhere) for over two decades. Second, I’ve been part of and worked with global businesses for over a decade, all of whom had absolute focus and clarity on culture as a keystone for any business, particularly when those in the business are globally disparate and rarely work from central offices.
I guess, then, that two key learnings for me from the webinar were:
- Not everybody is on the same place on the journey of seeing that culture is the Keystone for your business
- If you are someone who has focussed on Culture at a new level during the pandemic, you can accelerate and smooth that journey by talking to those who have been on this path since well before the pandemic, they can help you move faster and more smoothly in consciously buidling and documenting your culture.
Your first step on this path can be to talk to me, I’d love to listen to you then seek to add value in a forty-minute call (which you can book on my site here)