Does culture really eat strategy for breakfast? Peter Drucker's famous quote underscores a fundamental truth: even the most brilliant strategic plans will falter if the organizational culture doesn't support them. But “culture” and “strategy” are not mutually exclusive. In fact, we need to be strategic about culture too.
For nonprofits, this is particularly crucial. We often operate with limited resources and rely heavily on the dedication and collaboration of staff and volunteers. A healthy, vibrant culture can be the difference between stagnation and significance.
So, what does a "strategic culture" look like in a nonprofit setting? It's more than just donuts in the breakroom, ping pong tables, and team-building exercises. It's about consciously designing an environment that aligns with your mission and empowers your team to achieve it.
There are two fundamental components to developing your strategic culture:
"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Do you have a compelling vision for where your organization is going? Do the people in and around your organization have a clear understanding of the organization's mission and values? Everyone, from the CEO to the newest volunteer, should understand how their work contributes to the bigger picture. This alignment fosters a sense of purpose and shared ownership.
Most nonprofits already have values, a declared mission, and vision statements (if you don’t – maybe something to work on). These pillars should guide everything from hiring and onboarding to performance evaluations and decision-making. These shouldn’t just be posters on the wall or words on a website. These need to be principles that are lived and embodied daily.
You might feel like you’ve stated the mission and clarified values time and time again. However, don’t underestimate the phenomenon of the leaky vision bucket. Remind, repeat, and reinforce your mission, vision, and values again and again. But remember, you can’t just be talking the talk, you’ve got to walk it too. That’s culture.
Trust is critical building strong culture. Our friend, Dr. Cory Scheer of TrustCentric Consulting, has done extensive research on teams who are intentional about creating an environment of trust. He has boiled this down to three critical components:
Rather than speaking of ‘trust’ as an esoteric concept, Dr. Scheer has suggested there are actual strategies and competencies that can be honed and developed.
More on trust from Dr. Scheer in this interview.
There are countless other considerations when it comes to being strategic about culture:
If there’ s one takeaway, it is this…
Culture needs to be an intentional strategy - one that is planned, implemented, evaluated, adapted, and nurtured.
Culture is a collection of ideas that lead to actions. If you aren’t being strategic about establishing a strong culture, you will have an accidental culture that may not be what you need or want. If you’ve already done the good work of developing a strategic plan for your organization – try developing a strategic plan for your culture as well. That just could be the most important meal of the day.
DBD offers a variety of resources and support for you to be more strategic about your culture. If you need help, we’ll be ready.