Culture wars, cancel culture, national culture, food culture … culture is constantly in the news, and is part of our everyday language. It means many different things, and we test its definition each time we attempt to harness our world view to explain what it is … to us.
Anthropologists might define culture as a combination of knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs, which are particular to certain groups. The larger the group of people, the more debate about the elements which define that group.
On a national level, we embed and enhance our culture via education and traditions, and investment in the material elements of our culture: art, music and architecture – all of these visual reminders of what unites us. We celebrate those who champion those things, and in this way invite adherence to those values which encourage social cohesion through a commitment to our culture.
Embedding cultural traditions is an ongoing process however, and requires a constant education for all concerned. In the corporate world, the process of establishing a culture is easier on one hand – the population smaller and the parameters of stakeholders better-defined; but also more challenging in that there is often little history to hang onto; no anchor of tradition. The newness of language, skills and the characters with whom we interact can initially be more divisive than is desired (or comfortable).
Here at Quiver, we regularly work with clients to establish a coaching culture, and to maintain it through education and training. The rough definition of a coaching culture, is one where the organisation “…espouses the importance of coaching in its key strategy and mission, and coaching appears as a key competency and capability for all managers and leaders…” (from Creating a Coaching Culture, by Peter Hawkins)
We have witnessed the many benefits of a coaching culture for more than twenty years: working with clients, training them, coaching them and supervising their transition into one which truly espouses all of the benefits of an organisation which values and nurtures people at all levels – including external stakeholders.
The fundamental mindset of coaching people (as opposed to telling them what to do) is to empower them by engaging them to view their own challenges with an enquiring mindset, seeking to explore options and ideas to resolve problems, and encouraging autonomy.
The benefits of operating with a coaching culture (in short) are a collective improvement in productivity, developed through a high level of energy and personal engagement. Autonomy of thought breeds creativity and a sense of responsibility. Corporate cohesion develops, and true team spirit is fostered from this respectful interaction.
At Quiver, we begin this process by coaching senior leaders, and by encouraging them to take our coaching and mentoring training courses, filtering down their skills through the organisation, and championing the power of the coaching and mentoring mindset. This helps to “grow” the idea within the organisation and foster the culture organically. The result is a business which is truly united in its approach to both the everyday and the longer-term view.
Ultimately, the purpose of any business strategy is to produce tangible results: productivity, profitability, staff retention, reduced levels of absenteeism, and so forth. There is a wealth of evidence that higher levels of personal engagement in the workplace benefits the business on all of these fronts.
The culture of personal engagement, and individual empowerment – in our experience – is one which fosters a deep-seated sense of “team” and a unity to be proud of. The process, in establishing that culture, is another story … to be continued.
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