Board & Corporate Culture: There is a lot of talk, but ARE YOU TAKING EFFECTIVE ACTION?

This morning I attended AICD’s annual Director Update. Sitting in an auditorium with over 2000 of Australia’s company directors, I keenly took note of Graham Bradley’s view of where board directors’ focus should be in the year ahead. I wasn’t sure to be surprised or not, when I heard that Culture was yet again the most significant topic of interest. 5 of the top 7 questions Directors ‘should ask’ were about organisational Culture…

Boards are becoming increasingly involved in governance as it relates to Culture – not at an operational level, but to take an active interest in their organisations, to learn, listen and ask questions. To ensure that leaders and employees are actually doing what they say they will do. As we continue to see in politics and business, misalignment of what is said vs what is done from a culture and purpose perspective, can be catastrophic. Getting this right is the key to success and sustainability.

Exploring how well an organisations core values, codes of conduct and behaviours are embedded to support performance is both highly sensitive and complex. It is difficult to balance the competing priorities of profit with increasingly demanding stakeholder needs, intent with follow-through, inclusiveness with decisiveness, for example. As a result, taking the first step and encouraging transparency remains a significant barrier to action. It takes courage and conviction, discipline and perseverance to lead governance and take action across your Culture agenda. How effective are you at ensuring your organisation is embedding the ‘right’ culture to succeed?

If you are not sure about how well your organisation’s culture is defined, aligned and embedded, or if you are seeking confidential, objective advice to learn more about Organisational Culture, please connect with me, Angela Lewis via Orgculturebites.com or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-lewis-a07600/

# AICD Essential Director Update 2018.