๐ฉ๐ช 4 years ago, I moved to Germany...
One small thing I like about living (where I live) is the greeting practice in doctor's waiting rooms, where everyone exchanges "hellos" upon arrival and "goodbyes" upon leaving, with everyone responding back.
Initially, it caught me off guard- not because it was unwelcome, but because it was just different from what I was used to.ย
Yet, very quickly I found myself doing it without even thinking.
โฆ so what's the link with workplace culture (you know this is where it's going ๐คฃ !)...?ย
๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฃ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ (๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐), ๐ฐ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ - ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐:
โก Observing how people behave & speak to each other
โก Noting whether meetings start punctually,
โก Identifying decision-makers,
โก Assessing the follow-through on commitments etc.
๐๐โ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ง ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ข๐จu๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ.
๐๐ฎ๐ญ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐?
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐๐: Look through official statements to understand the real, lived experience of the organisation's culture. The essence of an organisation's culture lies in what's practiced, not just what's preached.
2๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐: Itโs crucial to understand a company's actual behaviors rather than relying on idealised expectations. Observing and documenting real actions and routines provides a true picture of the existing culture.
3๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ: Where there are discrepancies between the stated culture and actual practices, transparency is often missing. Addressing these gaps is essential for building an authentic culture. My example is positive, but where there is a disconnect between what is said and done, trust can really be eroded.ย
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