Insights
Forging culture: We say the same things but we don't think alike
Culture is embedded in every aspect of organizational life. It touches everything. Yet, even though leaders recognize this, most do little to build deliberate efforts to shape organizational culture.
Culture is embedded in every aspect of organizational life. It touches everything. Yet, even though leaders recognize this, most do little to build deliberate efforts to shape organizational culture.
Culture is embedded in every aspect of organizational life. It touches everything. Yet, even though leaders recognize this, most do little to build deliberate efforts to shape organizational culture.
Yesterday I was waiting to be received for an appointment in the reception area of one of our clients when I noticed the value of the month posted on the wall: Integrity. The poster read, “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” It struck me as an accurate definition, yet it left me questioning the weight of interpreting what is right. The poster made me reflect on the main factor that complicates relationships and causes many people to fail in the workplace: interpretation. The interpretation of values is the principal component of organizational culture.
Many conflicts in professional and personal relationships arise when we don’t understand each other—when we assume that a word or a value means the same thing for everyone. In the communication process, things can take unexpected turns when we assume that a word will be received and interpreted with the same meaning it was intended to carry.
The word integrity, and the concept of doing what’s right, is a good example. Consider this situation: Juan travels with his boss Pedro to a conference in New York. They arrive in the city on a Sunday, rent a car, and head to the welcome cocktail on a cold, rainy night. When the cocktail reception ends, both head to their hotel in the car, driven by Pedro. Just before reaching the first traffic light, Pedro applies the brakes, but the car skids on the icy pavement and crashes into the pole holding the traffic light. Fortunately, the damage is only material, but the accident must be reported so the insurance on the rental car can cover the costs. At that moment, Pedro turns to Juan and says, “Can you take the wheel and say you were driving? I had two beers, and I’m not sure whether they’ll detect alcohol on me.” Should Juan take the wheel? Should Juan force Pedro to face the consequences of his actions?
The simple and direct answer is that Juan should do what’s right and act with integrity. But what is right? How do Juan and Pedro each define integrity? We return to the dilemma of interpreting words and values. For those of us who are Mexican, this can spark a bit of debate. We’ve gotten mixed results when we’ve posed this situation and these questions as an exercise in a room full of Mexican executives. In the end, most agree that the simplest, most practical, and “correct” answer (though debatable) is for Juan to take the wheel, as a reflection of loyalty in the relationship. In other cultures, such as German culture, integrity is already violated the moment Pedro asks Juan to take the wheel. In Korean culture, integrity implies that the subordinate takes the wheel instinctively, without needing to be told to do so.
It seems simple. Integrity is a word with a clear concept, but in practice our habits, practices, and individual values dictate how we interpret it—and, as a result, how we behave.
Here we used differences in national culture to illustrate variation in interpretation, but cultural differences are not confined by borders. In many cases, these differences exist within our own social or professional circles. Our challenge, as leaders and shapers of culture, is to identify and understand how others interpret things—rather than assume.
____
Jose Ruiz is Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner at Alder Koten.
Insights
Domains Of Competence: A Simple Way To Put The Right People On The Right Work
Clarity on the Domains of Competence helps leaders stop confusing present skill with future potential. By separating Ability, Capability, and Capacity, organizations can staff roles accurately, scale without losing coherence, and govern decisions across time horizons.
The Progression Of Meaningful Response: Sense-Making Before You Solve
A practical guide to Sense-Making as the first discipline in the Progression of Meaningful Response—aligning reality, meaning, frames, and solutions to execute with clarity across Levels of Work.
The Three Management Horizons: A Simple Way To Run Today And Build Tomorrow
The Management Horizon Framework helps executives align today’s performance, tomorrow’s transformation, and long-term Stewardship as one operating system. By mapping Levels of Work inside each horizon, leaders can match decision time span to role design, governance cadence, and accountability—so reliability, renewal, and identity reinforce each other.