How do organisations create great workplace cultures that recognise people’s individuality while creating a collective vision and values?

Companies are more aware than ever of the importance their culture plays in attracting, retaining, and progressing the talent required to meet the shifting demands of the modern work environment.

The ILM ‘Leading through Values’ report identified 4 key themes in the future of the workplace, they were:

  • People choose values over remuneration
  • Consultative processes are helpful
  • Movement away from hierarchy
  • Leadership must invest in values

Their research also cited:

‘A 2019 report from Glassdoor found that over 77% of adults across the USA, UK, France, and Germany would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there, and 79% would consider a company’s mission and purpose. More than half of those polled said that company culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction.’

(Leading through values - News | ILM (i-l-m.com)

Although company culture is imperative to the success of an organisation, understanding how to create and nurture it is more problematic. A culture is formed through a collective vision, shared language, and common behaviours. It lives and breathes through every person who contributes to it, and in the absence of a strong organisational cultural identity, every person will bring their own values, lived experience, and interpretation of what a good company looks like.

Here lies the problem faced by businesses today. An organisational culture cannot be formed with a multitude of personal perspectives, however individually valid they are. This presents a challenge to organisations to meet the needs of a multi-generational workforce and recognise the importance of the ‘authentic self’ at work while still creating a collective vision, language, and behaviours.

Entelechy’s culture is based on a positive belief that culture is borne from a collection of individuals brought together with a shared vision and set of values. Our expectation is that everyone evolves together, letting our essence shine, not our egos and that we choose to make a difference every day. We foster the belief that creating something greater than ourselves requires encouragement and collaboration.

We want to share our approach to culture, providing a methodology for other organisations to recognise individuality within a collective voice and needs. This creates a culture where everyone is valued and shares ways of working that create cohesion, collaboration, and the space for people to succeed.

We believe the culture we have created at Entelechy, which puts our people at the centre of the business, can be emulated and embodied. Through our Be Do Become framework, founded on character-based development, we can inspire everyone to believe that anything is possible. Unlike many existing learning solutions, we start with the premise that, through daily acts of evolution, people can become their best selves.

Our achievement is our culture, showing that we can do business differently when we put people first.

To live this every day, in everything we do, we implemented facilitated peer mentoring, quarterly 360 character-based reviews and weekly team coaching sessions. Every internal meeting is facilitated by a trained coach and ends with a round of appreciation for other team members' contributions. We make time and space for growth, following our principles of encouragement, feedback and nurture. We see this as a core business function and our performance management systems are based on ancient wisdom teachings with elements of humanocracy.

The Association for Character Education had this to say:

“Assessors found an open and transparent culture within Entelechy, which facilitates a hugely effective 360 practice, allowing staff to use feedback from colleagues to reflect on their own character qualities. Staff naturally and habitually shared character qualities that they were focusing on, in order to further their personal and professional growth. This demonstrates a culture of trust which has enabled staff to openly and authentically share reflections on their own character. This practice demonstrates how character development transcends an annual appraisal system and is woven into daily habits and routines. This is outstanding practice enabling both the effectiveness and well-being of the team.”

If you are interested in finding out more about our Be Do Become Framework and how it could work for your organisation, contact us today. Our Entelechy Team is available to explore with you how it could build your company culture.

You may also like