Culture has become a junk drawer term.
A quick internet search will yield posts, articles, books, and entire consulting industries built around organizational culture change in churches. Job descriptions for CEOs and executive leaders now include the word, saying that the job of the executive is to be a “culture-shaper.” The word has been used so much and so often that it’s become just another part of leadership jargon.
That’s not to say there isn’t good reason why the word and ideas around culture have become so ubiquitous. Leadership theorist Patrick Lencioni, for example, argues that organizational culture is not just a priority for leaders, but is the single greatest advantage an organization can achieve, and therefore must be constantly tended to.
But what does it mean? Because that’s the danger in becoming so familiar with a word - it starts to become just a word, and we forget the real meaning behind it.
Edgar Schein, one of the pioneers of research in the field of organizational culture offers this definition: "A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems."
Building on Schein's work, John Kotter later promoted a similar, though less detailed, definition of culture - "it is the normal operating system of behavior and values within any organization." These norms are so intrinsically understood and enacted that new organizational members are indoctrinated in them not only through conscious educational training but simply through observing behavior. Those who think and behave consistently are rewarded while those who do not are ostracized. Further, these norms are so strong that they persist over time even as organizational membership changes. The culture is, quite succinctly, “the way we do things around here.”
That’s what culture is - but how does it change? The question matters because quite often, as leaders, one of the charges we have been given is to do more than increase productivity or efficiency; it’s to change the entire culture of the organization. That leads to one very important principle we should remember if we are seeking to be cultural change agents in ministry:
You can’t change the culture by trying to change the culture.
Looking back at Schein’s definition, you find that culture - the way we do things around here - is learned over time. As a group of people has shared experiences and, more importantly, shared struggles and fought their way through them, culture is formed.
So culture is made not through aspirational statements on a wall; it’s not made through policies enacted; it’s not through motivational and inspiring speeches, as important as those things are. Culture is formed through shared experiences in an organization.
That’s why a leader who wants to change culture should place the emphasis on first changing some kind of specific action people are taking. It’s only after people’s actions have changed, and then after the new behavior has produced some kind of benefit for people, and after people see the connection between the new action and the result, that cultural change can happen.
Say, for example, that a church has an ingrown culture. There is little outreach, little hospitality to guests, and little excitement around living on mission. You, as a leader, want to change that culture. The best thing to do is not to immediately announce you are enacting a culture change. Instead, focus on one specific behavior. Maybe start requiring every small group to participate in one mission opportunity per year. Then celebrate publicly the joy that comes from doing so.
When you do that, you are choosing a behavior, and then linking that behavior to a positive result. Only then can culture change start to happen.
So if you desire to shape the culture of the church you are in, that’s a good thing. But getting there takes time. Focus on behavior first, then link the behavior to the result, and then - finally - you are on your way to creating real and lasting cultural transformation in your church.
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By Michael Kelley, Rooted Network Executive Director