As Above, So Below
The title of this post is from writings originally attributed to the medieval alchemist Hermes Trismagistus who was attempting to create gold out of a baser metal...alchemy. I was thinking this week that we are all in the Alchemy Business: creating gold (or something of higher value) from a diverse set of people and processes.
Now, our old friend Hermes was thinking metaphorically. I'm thinking culturally, because that is how "gold" in organizations is typically created. Culture is the combination of assumptions, biases, values and perceptions that underlie our corporate actions. In a very real way, culture determines how we view the world and the "shoulds" we operate under. Yet, culture is something we rarely think about or attempt to influence. And yet, it probably determines what ideas (and people) move ahead, how we organize, what we measure and how we treat each other. In short...
Culture is the Alchemy of organizations.
If you want to understand how culture is created in the rank-and-file (the below) of an organization, just examine how the senior leaders (the above) believe and act. That is the focus of my message today.
Perhaps I can illustrate my points with one short example. I have had a large aerospace/defense company as a client for many years. It has been fascinating to me (and the Chair/CEO) how different parts of the same complex organization behave so differently, despite being populated by essentially the same mix of employees serving similar customers. Most are highly technically skilled, mission driven, smart and engaged. Yet, we see huge differences in helpful collaboration, focus and tenure. The difference? Leaders and leadership. Where we see high levels of all the "right stuff", we also see leaders who demonstrate this stuff every day. Where we don't...not so much.
While we have done quite a bit to instill a culture that supports the business through a well-organized development program across the enterprise, this has not been how we have achieved the business-specific lift that was desired. To achieve this end, we have focused on the following actions:
Selected new associates based not only on technical excellence, but also values match.
Promoted leaders who demonstrate the desired values and culture.
Measured and publicized the engagement levels of discreet business units. By the way, this was huge in changing behavior.
Put equal emphasis on both the "what" and "how" leaders achieved results.
As often as possible, transferred multiple leadership team members into a struggling business. One person often does not succeed; a team might.
I have applied similar thinking with a variety of other clients, with the same successful outcomes.
I look forward to hearing how you have changed your culture to one of Alchemically Gold through your comments. Let's help each other. This is part of Innovation.
Originally published HERE.
