Culture Demands Intent

Peter Drucker once said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” and it’s hard to find people who’d dispute that. But if I asked you to define your culture in five words, could you do it quickly and concisely? And would everyone in your organisation say those same five words?

While strategy sets the direction, it’s culture that drives execution and innovation. Leaving culture to evolve on its own is a no-go. To make your culture work for your strategy, everyone needs to understand the operating rules and norms and know what it takes to thrive.

Culture must be intentional, not incidental.

This means clearly defining what the key tenets of your culture look like. Clarity aligns behaviours with the strategy, crucial for both current and future employees. If you can’t describe your culture in five words, or feel it hinders more than helps, check out Charles Handy’s classic ‘The Gods of Management.’ Published in 1978, it defines four organisational cultures, which are still relevant as a sort of ‘culture ready reckoner’ today.

Here’s a quick overview of Handy’s four cultures, plus, my five-word summary for each culture!

1. Power Culture

Centralised authority with a key individual or small group. Quick decisions, clear vision, and strong leadership are its perks. But the dependency on a central leader can be risky, and limited employee input can stifle innovation.

In Five Words: Centralised, Decisive, Dominant, Influential, Leader-focused.

2. Role Culture:

Formal structures, roles, and hierarchies with an emphasis on rules. This provides stability and efficiency but can become overly bureaucratic and hinder adaptation to new opportunities.

In Five Words: Structured, Hierarchical, Organised, Procedural, Defined.

3. Task Culture

Teams formed to address specific tasks, focusing on problem-solving. Flexibility and collaboration are its strengths, but resource allocation and continuity can be challenging.

In Five Words: Collaborative, Flexible, Team-oriented, Project-based, Dynamic.

4. Person Culture

Focus on individual development with the organisation serving its members’ needs. Promotes creativity and personal growth but can lack structure and coordination.

In Five Words: Individual-focused, Autonomous, Developmental, Creative, Supportive.

Blending Organisational Cultures.

Most successful organisations adopt a blend of these cultures to leverage their strengths and mitigate weaknesses. Here’s how a blended approach can work:

• • Power and Task Culture: Strong, decisive leadership combined with project-based teams. Swift decision-making and team-level innovation.

• • Role and Person Culture: Structured roles and processes prioritising individual development. Stability and efficiency meet personal growth.

• • Role and Task Culture: Formal structures with cross-functional project teams. Balances stability and flexibility.

• • Person and Task Culture: Focus on individual development with project teams. Promotes personal growth and collaboration.

Benefits of a Blended Approach

A blended approach enhances adaptability and responsiveness to change, improves employee engagement and satisfaction, and fosters innovation and efficiency by balancing teamwork with clear roles and autonomy.

How to Be Intentional About Culture

It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO, the Chief People and Culture Officer, a Divisional Manager or Team Leader, the next time culture is on your team agenda try the five words activity.

Ask everyone for five words that describe your culture and map the words against Handy’s four cultures.

This activity will be the catalyst for an engaging discussion along the lines of:

• What is the level alignment within this group on how we see our culture?
• Which of the four cultures has the most words? Which has the least? Is there a combo?
• Is our dominant culture the right one to drive our strategy?
• What should be our next steps?

If you’d like to explore strategies for cultivating an intentional culture in your organisation, let’s get in touch!

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Justin Miles

Manager Partner, Melbourne at Generator Talent

Justin is the Managing Partner of our Melbourne office, an outcome focused leader with a track record of driving business performance through proven talent and organisation development practices. Justin’s methods and skills have been shaped by working with performance oriented leaders in great companies including PepsiCo, The Campbell Soup Company, Diageo, Rip Curl, Fonterra and Wesfarmers, in Australia, the USA and Latin America.