21/8 2011
What impact does leadership have on the culture of an organization? I would say – a lot! Leadership is really about body language. When we raise our children we often say that they will not learn to do as we tell them but instead they will do as we do. My experience is that it is the same with organizations. When I once worked with a political party, the chairman and I invited the local leaders to meetings. They wanted to participate because they were interested in discussing political subjects with the board. After some time the chairmen told me to convene the meetings without him because he had more important business to take care of. I did as I was told but found that many of the local leaders stopped coming. It was obvious that when the chairman was not there, it was a clear signal to the leaders that the meetings were not important, even if he told them they still were.
It is also interesting to reflect on what it means when leaders say that their staff is their greatest asset and when the times get tough they choose to cut the resources for competence development before cutting the recourses for offices or equipment. And what impact does it have that paying staff is considered a cost but buying equipment or buildings is seen as investment?
When a leader wants to create a certain culture, everything needs to be taken into consideration, even such things as the headlines in the budget. It must be possible to put the resources for training and education on the account for investment. To do that would really be to change some of the body language of an organization.
What impact does leadership have on the culture of an organization? I would say – a lot! Leadership is really about body language. When we raise our children we often say that they will not learn to do as we tell them but instead they will do as we do. My experience is that it is the same with organizations. When I once worked with a political party, the chairman and I invited the local leaders to meetings. They wanted to participate because they were interested in discussing political subjects with the board. After some time the chairmen told me to convene the meetings without him because he had more important business to take care of. I did as I was told but found that many of the local leaders stopped coming. It was obvious that when the chairman was not there, it was a clear signal to the leaders that the meetings were not important, even if he told them they still were.
When a leader wants to create a certain culture, everything needs to be taken into consideration, even such things as the headlines in the budget. It must be possible to put the resources for training and education on the account for investment. To do that would really be to change some of the body language of an organization.
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