Culture is the Voice of the People

In the opening statement of the American Constitution it says “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”.

“We The People” –in other words, we represent the people for the good of the people. It’s a phrase that been going through my head a lot lately because so often that’s the role we take on in organisations. When we look at the culture of an organisation, we by default are taking on the role of the voice of “We the People”.

I was reminded of this when a client recently interviewed me. They’d taken on a new reporting structure and had asked me to respond to some of the challenges the business was currently facing. They weren’t asking me for my own personal opinion, (although I’m sure they would have been happy to hear them if I’d wished to voice them). More, they were asking me because, in my work with their staff, I had gained frontline insights into how their staff think and feel.

I was impressed by their initiative. So often when you’re in the middle of running a business it can be hard to have that kind of perspective. There are so many issues on your plate and it’s hard to hear the voice of your employees and colleagues. And often it does take someone from outside the organisation with a fresh perspective to listen and to hear what people are really saying.

At Leading Culture we consider it a privilege to be a voice for the people and view it as an integral part of what we do in improving Organisational Culture.

For any organisation wanting to better understand "The Voice of the People," a cultural audit is a great place to start. We come into your business, spend time alongside staff and managers and really get to know what people are saying (and what they’re not saying). Being seen and heard goes a long way in improving staff morale and the knock-on effect is it not only increases company culture and organisational health but it increases productivity too.