Yesterday I heard in depth from someone with (in)credible, rich and varied experience in INGO (International Non-Governmental Organisation) work. They have worked all over the world on policy, funding, international relations, conflict resolution, monitoring and evaluation - you name it, they've been there.
I felt privileged to spend some time with this person and learn so much in a short time.
We both came to one interesting insight.
The success of any mission, any organisation, any project or programme rests on the Culture and the culture.
Though it's an imperfect shortcut, I'll divide it into: 1. capital C, 2. lowercase c.
1. Culture - the visible signs that make up how things work - structure, branding, mission, policies, value statements, events, leaders, external partners
2. culture - the stories we tell, the underlying atmosphere, the speed things get done, enthusiasm, behaviour expectations and tolerance, the unspoken amount of agency and autonomy of action people have, the assumptions we make.
Culture is a complex weave, shaped by human interaction, circumstances and the ways people rise to challenges and opportunities.
As Edgar Shein put it: “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture.”
That's why all the services I offer - from consultancy to coaching and training have a golden thread of "human-to-human" running through them. 2 examples.
1. ✅ You develop a brilliant strategy and operational plan.
❌ no one is bought into it because it doesn't align with your organisation's values, or their personal values,
❌ the people who need to implement it don't see what it's there to achieve, or disagree with the goal
There'll always be disagreements, that's healthy. Here's a human-to-human culture approach:
✅ Genuinely listen, hear and report back on how decisions were reached
✅ Try something small first, and notice what changes
2. ✅ A person (perhaps you) is promoted to a management position. Better pay, more responsibility, more interesting work
❌ managing people is the one part of the job they don't enjoy or feel confident in
❌ expectations and outcomes are unclear, team performance drops or doesn't drop but is achieved with greater effort due to the lack of clarity
You can use the top down, command and control way (I say, you do) of course. That's useful in situations of danger or crisis.
Here's a human-to-human culture approach:
✅ Listen attentively to where the expertise is
✅ Systematically examine and share successes and failures with genuine curiosity - that's where the most progress can be made because you already have the data!
Creating the conditions where people thrive because of the culture is like cultivating a garden. Nourish the soil and choose the right plants for the right place, based on the type of garden you want to see.
My mission is to create human-to-human conditions for success. For you, your team, a project or your business. Link in bio.