When Supervisors Have to Work AGAINST Company Culture

The culture of a specific company or organization can almost be "organic" meaning that evolves and exists due to so many different factors that it seems to have a life of its own. While individuals can have influence on the culture, one person or a small management team cannot necessarily come in and make wholesale changes that are counter to the work environment or culture. When supervisors have to work against company culture, it can be a very big challenge.

If a company culture is well-established and management tries to come in and institute major changes, it is probably not going to work. This is not to be pessimistic but it is important to realize the overall culture of a company or organization is influenced by so many different elements and built over time so a quick change is just not going to "stick." This does not mean that supervisors or managers should not try to do what they believe needs to be done; it just means that they will need to be creative in figuring out the best way to go about it.

If possible, when supervisors need to make changes, it is best to try to work within the culture-utilizing established modes of communication and taking advantage of shared values in order to promote new ideas. When this is not possible, you may need to consider how you can create change and be prepared for the struggle.

Identify what the most likely detractors will be-whether they are structural, external, or individual people who will most likely stand in the way of the progressive change. You can talk with these individuals first and try to sway them to your "side"-this can be a very effective way of building a team or coalition to support change before it happens. If there are external factors that are creating a pressure that is affecting the culture, consider what you can do to create a "counter movement" within the company or organization based on the need to further your idea or directive.

It may be necessary to divide the challenge up into smaller tasks in order to work against the culture of a company or organization: divide and conquer is the technique. Break things up into do-able chunks as you work against the prevailing culture to institute change.