Culture>Climate

Our family has one.  Our community has one.  Our house of faith has one.  So do our social clubs, our schools, our work places, our ..........

Culture, organizational culture, is the collective ways of thinking, the ways of behaving, the worldviews that our "groups" live by.  

The healthiest organizational cultures possess these traits:

• Transparency prevails - NO secrets.
• Incentives, both tangible and intangible, promote ethical and selfless behavior.
• Kindness toward others is encouraged and expected.
• Problems are addressed openly and promptly.
• Every member has a voice, they know it, and they feel safe using it.
• Decisions are made with the WHOLE and the 7th forthcoming generation in mind.

Now a word about climate.  Climate is the look, feel, and smell of the organization.  Climate is the outward manifestation of the culture, the visible enactments of those underlying beliefs.

Cultures are verbs, not nouns.  They are fluid, dynamic, and ever changing.  

Culture shaping is a job that never gets finished.  As members of organizations we have a moral obligation to improve the culture in as many ways as we can.  

How?  That bulleted list above is a good start.