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08/20/2024

For a Positive Workplace Culture, Match Words to Decisions and Actions

Culture suffers when values and day-to-day experiences don't align

How often do organizations go through the motions of defining their company value statements, only to leave them to languish like just another exercise checked off the list? When organizational values such as integrity, respect, collaboration and trust don't, in reality, reflect what people experience in their day-to-day work life, organizational culture suffers. By only paying lip service to their values, leaders lose credibility. 

A degraded culture can have a disastrous effects. We’ve seen major tragic events through the years whose causes have been rightly attributed to the culture of the organization—the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, the BP explosion at Deepwater Horizon, the Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil and more recently, Boeing’s frequent mishaps.

An organization’s culture is best thought of as “how we get things done.” The primary factors that give definition are upward communication, trust in leadership, organizational support and perception of justice. But few leaders can honestly say they know what kinds of decisions and actions they engage in that influence these factors. 

Please select this link to read the complete article from Chief Executive.

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