Take a Skills-Based Approach to Culture Change

"Organizational Culture and Leadership" by Ed Schein: “Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of culture as a concept is that it points us to phenomena that are below the surface, that are powerful in their impact but invisible and to a considerable degree unconscious. In that sense, culture is to a group what personality or character is to an in

in its people, changing to address new problems is relatively simple. But when the capabilities have come to reside in processes and values and especially when they have become embedded in culture, change can become extraordinarily difficult.

The distinguishing feature of the scenario culture is that it has invested in assumptions, values and mental models. Tools and techniques are secondary. However sophisticated the tools, if there is no significant effect on assumptions, values and mental models, people will quickly fall back into the old habit of asking "Tell me what will happe

need to be developed so that they master the appropriate briefing and decision-making skills. A common development program covering the behaviors which go along with these skills can begin to shape the culture, as long as it is reflected in day-to-day practice. Even if they understand what part they are to play in executing a company’s strategy, pe

Though Shell, BP, Hanover, and Harley-Davidson took very different approaches to developing capacity to work with mental models, their work involved developing skills in two broad categories: skills of reflection and skills of inquiry. Skills of reflection concern slowing down our own thinking processes so that we can become more aware of how we fo