“You need to connect to the culture more.”
That’s what the feedback said. So it’s back to the drawing board for that promotion or career move. What does it mean to connect to the culture more? There are lots of articles about company culture, but how does it all apply to me?
The good news is, I’ve broken it down into 3 tangible things we can work on:
- Seeing the culture
Culture is “the water the fish swim in” or “the way we do things around here.” (Schein) Or to take a sharper view, it is the way we agree to resolve tensions about values. (Trompenaars). Our assumptions about it come from all our formative experiences. Making the leap to seeing that others might be in a different mindset is the first part. The next is to notice that the group as a whole might have particular ways of looking at things. There are frameworks and ways of seeing that can help with this.
- Knowing yourself
Having seen how others look at the world, it’s time to take a step back and look at how you think. Do you come from a different culture? Where is it similar? Where is it different? What light does this throw on misunderstandings or disagreements? We will use a combination of psychological and cultural questionnaires to help us find data points that can bring out a sense of how you think.
- Choosing when and how to bridge the gap
This isn’t about changing to become like everyone else. Our authentic self is the centre of our talents and success. Learning how we may communicate more effectively and understand the signals being sent puts us in the position of choice. We choose how we represent our self and our ideas, in alignment with your ultimate goals.