Did you know that Humphrey Bogart never said, “Play it again Sam” in Casablanca? Or that Alec Guinness, as Obi-Wan Kenobi, never says “may the force be with you” in the original Star Wars movies? In other famous misquotes, Paul Drucker, never said “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”.
Here, I will look at what culture and this famous (mis)quote means, why culture is important, and how a strong culture can be developed.
Culture may be described as the guiding beliefs and values evident in the way an organisation operates. It is the written or the unwritten rules that influence the behaviour of those involved in the organisation at all levels. It may be about ambition and it will almost certainly influence the amount of effort people put into their work, how they speak to and treat each other each other and how they feel about going to work.
Paul Drucker was born in 1909 in Austria, moving to Germany and then the UK before settling in the USA in 1937. He had a distinguished career, first as a professor of politics and philosophy at Bennington College from 1942 to 1949, then twenty-two years at New York University as a professor of management from 1950 to 1971 before moving to Claremont Graduate University, California in 1971, where he developed one of the country’s first executive MBA programs for working professionals at and established the Drucker Archives (which later became the Drucker Institute). Drucker taught his last class in 2002 at age 92 and continued to act as a consultant to businesses and nonprofit organizations and stayed actively linked to the university up to his death aged 95 in 2005.
Drucker’s writings about management and organisations are wide ranging with many well renowned theories influencing businesses today. A key theme is a focus on relationships among human beings, as opposed to statistics or technology. His books contain many lessons on how organizations can bring out the best in people, and how workers can find a sense of community and dignity in a modern society organized around large institutions.
The famous (mis)quote “Culture eats strategy for breakfast, was popularized in 2006 by Mark Fields, president of Ford Motor Company. What Drucker actually said, in an article for the Wall Street Journal (March 28,1991) was “Culture, no matter how defined, is singularly persistent.”
Shortly before this, one of Drucker’s professional contemporaries, Michigan Institute of Technology psychology professor Edgar Schein wrote a similarly themed quote in his book from 1985 “Organizational Culture & Leadership.” Schein wrote, “culture determines and limits strategy,”.
Neither quote is as catchy and memorable as “culture eats strategy for breakfast” but both describe the importance of organizational culture, that it is always present and that it can determine the success or failure of strategy.
Misunderstanding, as well as misquoting is also common, specifically interpreting this as a view of culture versus strategy, believing that that culture and strategy are somehow separate, competing forces, and that perhaps a good culture replaces the need for a good strategy. Or that you can only have one or the other, which is clearly wrong and not at all what either Drucker or Shein are saying.
I have heard culture described as the habitat in which a company’s strategy lives or dies. While the organization’s strategy critically provides direction, it is culture that creates the environment in which people are either enabled to effectively execute the strategy or are held back/prevented from doing so in some way. It is in this way that culture eats strategy for breakfast. Culture determines how individuals work and function within an organization, enabling (or preventing) the organization’s success at carrying out its mission and achieving its strategic vision. No matter how well-crafted a strategy may be, it will prove very hard to effectively implement if the organization’s strategy and culture are not well aligned or if people feel unempowered or unsupported and resist the very change the strategy is intended to bring about.
This helps us to understand why culture is so important. The way we do things in an organisation, the ambitions and beliefs are all crucial. In schools, a culture of aspiration and high expectations of all children is vital. Conversely, a culture where assumptions are rife, limiting beliefs based on social class, prior attainment, gender, or race would be extremely problematic to say the least.
A culture where communication is strong and there is clear respect, will almost certainly provide the conditions a strategy needs for success and will be more likely lead to the best outcomes. Feeling involved, empowered and being treated with respect will also have significant wellbeing benefits for employees too.
A negative culture can be damaging to all. Bad for the leaders, employees as well as those they serve. A culture of extreme resistance to change, of poor communication may be understandable and may be a result of historic events or as an impact of past leadership but means that a school or other organisation is unlikely to be able to provide the best outcomes.
So, seeing the importance of culture, and the impact positive and negative, how is culture creates and who defines culture?
Who Creates the Culture?
Leaders play a pivotal role in the culture of the organisations they lead. In a school context, school culture is central to the the Headteachers’ standards. It is vital for leaders to be aware of the impact of their influence on organisational culture for them to ensure their team will deliver on their vision and strategy. Strategy is important, but alone cannot achieve the leader’s vision. Those who are responsible for driving the strategy, for implementing it, doing the work, need to be passionate about the vision. They need to have buy in, and culture is crucial there. If they are doing something because they must and don’t know wholeheartedly agree or feel passionate about the cause, their actions may be half hearted actions, or less sustained.
Leaders need to create a culture where those doing the work are enthused. Key elements of strong cultures are ambition and high expectation for all, in schools this is particularly important, a genuine belief in everyone and their potential, of ambition for students regardless of their backgrounds leads to strong outcomes. Other features of effective cultures include growth, respect, and where people think for themselves and feel confident to try new things without fear of reprisal.
When there is poor leadership in an organisation, the impact on culture can be significant and felt by all involved. People will not feel involved or empowered, may lack clarity and wellbeing will often be low, morale low and trust almost totally lacking.
Visiting several schools in the past few weeks, it has been a privilege to see some where leaders have transformed the culture. One, where staff morale had been low, and formal complaints had been frequent, a new senior leader has worked hard to build relationships, empower others, be open and honest creating a more harmonious environment where middle leaders are clearly passionate about their roles and everyone is pulling in the same direction. The culture is visible as soon as you walk into the school, happy faces (where frowns and avoiding eye contact had been the norm), positivity and a wealth of new opportunities and examples of people stepping up and showing confidence in their roles. In another school , seeing a culture of trust growing between senior leaders and staff, pupils and parents, created by strong leaders being highly visible, demonstrating integrity and building relationships again shows the impact leadership has on culture.
Research shows that a strong culture is also impacted by others in the organisation, in schools, this relates specifically to teachers, but I would argue that support staff play a vital role too. Specifically, the benefits of teacher collaboration in promoting a positive school culture, improving instructional practices, and fostering a supportive community for both educators and students is clear (Hargreaves & Dawe, 1990; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). A positive school culture is built on trust, shared values, and a sense of collective responsibility. Teachers who actively engage in collaborative efforts contribute to the creation of a harmonious and positive working environment (Louis et al., 2010). Research by Little (1990) highlights that collaborative relationships among teachers are linked to increased job satisfaction and a greater sense of professional fulfilment. By working together, teachers can establish a culture of mutual support and encouragement. When colleagues collaborate, they become resources for one another, sharing insights, strategies, and innovative practices. This sense of camaraderie contributes to a more vibrant and inclusive school culture. A study by Ronfeldt, Farmer, and McQueen (2015) found a positive correlation between teacher collaboration and instructional quality. Teachers who engage in collaborative planning and reflection are better positioned to adapt their practices to meet the diverse needs of their students.
Professional relationships among teachers create an environment conducive to ongoing learning. Through collaborative lesson planning, peer observations, and joint professional development initiatives, educators can refine their teaching methods and incorporate evidence-based practices into their classrooms (Cordingley et al., 2015). There are wellbeing benefits of collaboration too. A supportive network of colleagues can act as a buffer against professional stress and burnout (Johnson, Berg, & Donaldson, 2005). By fostering positive relationships, teachers provide each other with emotional support, encouragement, and a shared sense of purpose vital in the challenging world of education.
Whilst there is definitely an argument for culture coming form the most senior leaders, others in the organisation play a significant role too. So how can leaders and others in the organisation create a strong culture?
Growing the Right Culture
A positive culture is not created overnight, it occurs gradually and should not be left to chance. A culture needs to be deliberate and so leaders need to be clear on what the culture they want looks like and why.
The first step in building a strong culture, and for a leader to build strong relationships and gain trust. A leader should be calm, reassuring, taking time to speak to everyone and more importantly to listen. Leaders must be honest, consistent, strong, and visible.
Leaders must focus on what they want the culture to be like and to then ensure their won behaviours model this. All behaviours too, not just the words.
If leaders are aiming to foster a culture of learning, they must model this, showing themselves as a learner, on a path to improvement, by partaking in training and admitting that they “don’t know it all”. They must then enable and empower others to seek professional development, and encourage, through not criticising, that reflection and improvement are part of the organisation’s expectations.
If a leader wants a culture where people can take time out to refresh and live their own lives, they need to be specific about creating a culture where people don’t work after hours and therefore must never send emails at late hours and tell everyone how long they are working. Leaders must model good boundaries.
If a leader wants a culture where people don’t moan, they must resist this themselves. People will be looking to them for the expected behaviours, if they moan, others will copy.
If a leader wants a culture where people think for themselves and are solution focussed, they must resist the temptation to jump in and be a rescuer and must give their team space and time to fins their own way. Similarly, they must be supportive and encouraging and never critical.
Collaboration too can be modelled by leaders, working with others in the organisation and beyond. Leaders are key in creating structures that support collaboration by their team too, through allowing time and opportunities.
Leaders must also be aware of their non-verbal communication, and how their unconscious actions may also reflect their own deep-seated beliefs. As leaders, it is vital to check our own mindset, asking if we believe all children can achieve. Biases too must be considered, as a leader, we must ask ourselves if we have equally high expectations of all children whatever background or prior attainment. Another are to question is around inclusivity, do we really believe in inclusivity for all, even when it means making some hard reasonable adjustments?
In establishing what we want as leaders for the culture or our organisations we must set aside time and space to think in order to form conscious and deliberate view. A coach can support this and will observe any potential mismatch between actions and words, which can enable us to work deeper on our own beliefs, biases, and assumptions. These are all perfectly natural and don’t make us bad people or poor leaders, working on them in a non-judgemental space can be vey beneficial.
One of the difficult things for leaders is that everything we say and do will determine the culture. All words and actions must align with the culture we want. Everything you say and do is an opportunity to foster the culture you want.
Leaders must make sure they empower others to support the culture and expect they will, never settling for anything less. This means as well as being explicit about the culture, living it yourself, leaders are also responsible for challenging anything that is outside the expected behaviours and contrary to the culture.
It is good for the team to be able to generate and contribute to the development of explicit culture, for example, if linking to values as well as setting out the values, naming and clarifying them, with each value, set out and co-create explicit behaviours we want to see and don’t want to see.
An international school leader recently described a session for her staff on culture. Having taken over the setting and noting some aspects of culture that caused her concern, notably the behaviours of some staff towards each other, she consulted them on how they wanted to be. She also invited them to write down (and let go) of all things that had happened to them that they hadn’t liked. She read them out (anonymised) and then visibly screwed them up and discarded them, banishing the old behaviours away and replacing with a new co-created way.
Leaders need to challenge anything that is outside the agreed cultural norms, whether on a large scale – like this example or with individuals. Starting with clarity, checking the person is OK, pointing out what the behaviour is and why it is a problem, and clarifying future expectation. A strong relationship underpinning this will help, but always so important not to let something go.
There is so much evidence of the strength in collaboration, that it seems this should be central to school culture. There are a number of things that school leaders can do to support this. Involving teachers in decision-making processes fosters a sense of ownership and investment in the school’s direction. Collaborative decision-making can take various forms, such as involvement in curriculum development, participation in school improvement initiatives, or representation on committees (Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu, & Easton, 2010).
Leaders can also enable opportunities for peer observations, which can offer fresh perspectives, promote reflective practices, and contribute to the collective improvement of teaching standards within the school. Encouraging teachers to observe their colleagues in action and provide constructive feedback is a powerful strategy for professional growth (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Further benefits can be found from implementing collaborative learning opportunities such as workshops, seminars, or book studies where teachers explore new ideas together, discuss their applications, and collectively consider how to integrate these insights into their classrooms (Cordingley et al., 2015). Leaders can provide these opportunities, and play their role in creating culture, but ultimately, there needs to be a buy in and involvement from the rest of the school. Teachers have a he opportunity here to shape culture in their schools by promoting, supporting and taking part in activities such as these.
In Conclusion
The importance of culture in creating the environment in which a strong strategy can be successful is vital. Culture underpins the work of any organisation; a strong culture provides a perfect habitat to enable a strong strategy to flourish. Leaders need to give clarity to culture, model it and enable it to develop, with others in the organisation also playing a vital role. In a school context, teachers are pivotal in the development of culture, as contributors to professional growth and pillars of support for one another. By engaging in the collaboration and picking up the behaviours modelled by leaders, the rest of the organisation bring the culture to life.
References
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Fullan, M (2015) The New Meaning of Education Change Fifth Edition
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