Any Positive Organisational Change, Starts with a Change in Culture Within the Organisation

All organisations are encountering change, at differing rates, both within and all around them, at the moment. These internal and never ending external changes, are affecting the way we do business now and the effects of the accelerating pace of change, will only increase, even more so in the future. The companies, which will flourish going forward, must embrace change and quickly introduce a culture of not only accepting the inevitable change, but finding ways to utilise change as an ally to accelerate growth within their organisation.

The way for organisations to become more flexible and adaptable to change, is to introduce a culture of greater individual and organisational accountability. This increased accountability will improve both company results and morale. My experience over the past few years has shown me that companies, which introduce a culture of greater accountability, can and do experience game changing results. The challenge most organisations face, is changing the traditional approach to accountability, in which accountability is something, which only applies when things have gone wrong, rather real accountability achieved through a step by step empowerment approach.

Introducing the concept of individual and organisational accountability, into your business, will serve as the foundation upon which you can build both individual and organisational success. This is not simply a nice to have in your business. The ever accelerating pace of change all around us has made this a basic requirement in today’s complex and fast changing business environment. The way we hold one another accountable, defines the very nature of our working relationships.

It defines:

•The very nature of our working relationships.
•How we interact with people within and all around our business.
•What we can expect from all stakeholders.
•How we actually end up doing things with the organisation.

Any business that wants to thrive in the future, must introduce a culture, where people embrace their accountability toward one another and the organisation. Without accountability the change process just seems to break down automatically. As any change process breaks down, people begin to externalise the need for change, resist initiatives to move the organisation forward and will even sabotage the very necessary efforts, needed to transform the organisation. Companies which do introduce a culture of accountability, see a very different picture. People at every level in the organisation embrace their role in facilitating the necessary change and demonstrate the buy-in and ownership needed to facilitate transformation and progress, both for themselves and the organisation.

When the process of introducing accountability is done properly, it produces greater transparency, openness, enhanced teamwork and trust within the organisation. There is far more effective communication and dialogue, much better follow through, improved understanding and clarity and a much tighter focus on achieving results. Ensure that accountability is the strongest thread that runs through the complex fabric of your organisation and you will see amazing results start to show up in your business. Greater accountability always produces better results. When you strive to build an organisation, where accountability is infused into the culture of the business, you create an organisation that is filled with people who can and most certainly will get game changing results.

The most crucial thing you need to understand is that any change in an organisation will be impossible without ensuring that there is a shift in the culture of the organisation. If the people in your business carry on operating the way they always have and continue to work within the same framework or reference points, then nothing can change. If you want anything in your world or business to change, then it is imperative that the change starts with a shift in culture. The culture in any business has a direct impact on the results any company can achieve and the right approach to culture change accelerates that impact in a way that will astound you.

When you base culture change on accountability and accept that introducing any new culture into your business is a process and never an event, you not only create a competitive advantage for your business, you also gain the new toolkit to sustain those great results. My goal over the next few days is to introduce you to a process to help you to introduce a new culture in your business, based on accountability. Remember that changing culture is done daily and can never be achieved in a day.