Time for a (Business) Health Check!

One of the leader’s primary roles for culture is determining the right mix or balance of the three positive culture dimensions: the Compliant Dimension, the Committed Dimension, and the Courageous Dimension.

It may help leaders to consider a couple of analogies to demonstrate how the dimensions work together to produce a healthy culture.

For example, a tree is a complex, living organism that flourishes when healthy.

Think of weeds around the tree as the Complacent Dimension. These weeds consume valuable nutrients needed to keep the tree healthy. Left unchecked, they can choke the tree’s potential growth and leave it at risk of diseases or inclement weather. But if the tree is healthy, the foliage chokes out the weeds beneath it. 

With that in mind, think of the Compliant dimension as the roots and trunk of the tree. They give order and structure to the tree, but without healthy branches and leaves above, it serves no purpose and provides no shade. Weeds will soon overrun a dying stump. 

The branches of the tree are like the Committed dimension. The branches are vital for achieving new growth and extending the shade of the tree. They require both a strong trunk and roots (Compliant) to thrive as well as leaves and flowers (Courageous) to give purpose to their activity.

The Courageous dimension of leaves and flowers on the tree is where the creative actions take place that fuel the rest of the tree. When they are healthy, they not only attract helpful creatures to the tree, they also choke out the weeds below. They depend on the branches and trunk even as they give vibrancy and purpose to the entire tree. 

All three positive systems are necessary in the right balance for the tree to be healthy. Likewise, it is the leader’s role to ensure each of the positive dimensions is healthy and balanced appropriately for the business function and unique organizational setting.

A Healthy (Business) Body

Another way of thinking about a healthy culture is to consider what is needed to keep a human body healthy.

The body is also a complex, living organism that, when healthy, runs remarkably well. Yet nothing good happens when its core systems are out of balance.

We could think of disease as the Complacent dimension. All systems suffer when disease is present as all energy gets put into survival, not into maximizing potential. 

The Compliant dimension is like the immune system. When healthy, it performs the necessary and vital task of protecting us from disease. When out of control, however, it can unintentionally hurt the rest of the body, leaving no energy for activity or creativity.

We can think of the Committed dimension as the physical systems of the body, the skeletal and muscular domains that enable movement and allow us to get things done. 

It relies on a healthy immune system (Compliant) even as it helps keep it healthy through regular exercise. It also positions the creative systems (Courageous) of the body to thrive. 

The Courageous dimension is like those creative systems—emotions, dreams, creativity, imagination, innovation, and all that give life purpose and meaning. 

The Creative systems depend on the other systems to thrive even as they think, plan, and inspire us to stay healthy. 

All the systems exist independently and yet are interdependent on one another to ward off disease and thrive. 

Which Culture Mix is Best?

Much like a human body, the cultural mix in your organization must remain in balance for all systems to function properly. What that mix is will depend on your situation. 

For example, a manufacturing business is likely to require more of the Compliant dimension than, perhaps, a creative agency. 

On the other hand, a sales organization may need to emphasize the Committed dimension more while an entrepreneurial start-up leans into the Courageous dimension for more initial inspiration before growing and needing to shore up the Compliant dimension.

It is the leader’s role to set the right mix of the three positive dimensions of culture for your business or organization. 

You have the responsibility to guide the rest of your team into optimal alignment by creating what Tamare Erickson calls “signature experiences” to articulate values. These are visible, distinctive elements of the work environment that send powerful messages about the organization’s aspirations as well as the skills, stamina, and commitment employees will need to succeed.

Great cultures are built on a deep sense of trust and cooperation, but trust and cooperation are built not on checklists but on feelings. 

Leaders can’t simply instruct someone to trust them and expect that they will. You can’t simply tell two people to cooperate and think they will. That’s not the way culture or leadership works. 

Trust and cooperation are feelings built on “signature experiences.” Over time, these signature experiences are the result of the way people think, act and interact around and with each other. 

Great signature experiences and great cultures don’t happen accidentally. They are intentionally designed by leadership through laser-focused intention. 

Leaders set the expectations for how employees need to think, act and interact because they know the environment is the single greatest predictor of success. They bring people together as part of a tribe with a sense of significance and belonging. 

Some have referred to this environment of belonging as the “circle of safety.” Creating that safe environment of togetherness is where leadership matters most.

Market conditions may shift. The economy may rise and dip. Competitors may come from all angles. Adversity and crises will inevitably hit. Technological advances will always change the way business gets done. 

Businesses must navigate all of these things, but the only thing organizations can really fully control is the environment within. That is why the best leaders focus on the culture inside to position the organizations they lead to navigate everything that happens on the outside.