On Culture and Leadership

The universe is a complex and ambiguous place. Reality is not always easy to grasp.

A few weeks ago I said the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. Through this process of repeatedly defining reality, a leader creates a culture for his or her organization.

Culture is a difficult, but important, topic. Perhaps the world's leading expert on organizational culture is Edgar Schein. Ed spent much of his career as a professor at MIT.

I recently read Schein's landmark book Organizational Culture and Leadership, and loved it, so I thought I would pass along a portion of that love.

Schein defines cultures as, "A pattern of basic assumptions–invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaption and integral 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 the problems."

He continues, "Because such assumptions have worked repeatedly, they are likely to be taken for granted and to have dropped out of awareness."

Culture is the result of the assumptions we use to get along in this crazy world. The assumptions we live by. Assumptions about the way the world works.

All is well-and-good as long as the assumptions hold. However, the world is constantly changing. And, eventually, good assumptions will turn into bad assumptions.

For this reason, it is wise to periodically question your assumptions. Perhaps every couple years ask yourself, "Are our assumptions still valid and effective?"

Especially after you experience an unexpected failure, you should reevaluate your assumptions. Unexpected failures are often the result of flawed assumptions.

Like Schein said, very often our assumptions and beliefs operate outside of conscious awareness. As you probably know, we humans tend to operate on auto-pilot. The key, just like with a pilot, is to know when to turn-off the automatic assistance, and fly the plane conscientiously.

Don't forgot to question your assumptions.