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It’s unfortunate that CEOs / Founders think it’s appropriate to dictate the culture of the organization vs. learning to nurture the emergent values from within

by ada1981 6y ago

It’s unfortunate that CEOs / Founders think it’s appropriate to dictate the culture of the organization vs. learning to nurture the emergent values from within the team. It’s a sign of limited leadership capacity to attempt to install culture as a top down mandate.

arawnx 6y ago
It's unfortunate that people who run companies... run companies? Do you understand how deluded you sound when you're indignantly concerntrolling over a crypto startup not abiding by the hyperintense political environ that you personally prefer? This is installing a culture. It's installing a culture that doesn't leech into either a. Areas they can't focus on primarily, or b. Areas that would directly make 10, 15, 25% of their human capital feel attacked/engaged in a hostile environment.
- ada1981 6y ago
  I’m not sure where you got that I prefer a hypertense climate. I’m referring to the hubris of a ceo who thinks they can dictate the culture in any meaningful way with top down mandates vs. actual leadership which is developing leaders and nudging culture via language and relationship structures.
tofuahdude 6y ago
Literally the job of executives is to define mission, vision, and the cultural approach to pursue that mission. Emergent mission, vision, and culture is a recipe for bankruptcy.
- ada1981 6y ago
  Depends on the organization and the type of leaders within it. At the higher levels of organizational leadership, it’s exactly emergent mission, vision and culture. This is why Tony From Zappos gives away Dave Logan’s book on Tribal Leadership for free. Stage 3 leaders try to tell everyone in the company what the culture is; Stage 4 leaders create a culture based on actual shared values (not something from a mission statement or poster on the wall or offsite activity). Most cultures are still at stage 3, but the greatest ones are stage 4+. I’ve seen this in my work over the past 20 years working with founders from some of the most successful companies (as a personal coach and advisor).
knorker 6y ago
It's a business. Not a kindergarten. Though in Silicon Valley (having worked there) I know many employees don't understand this. It's like that person who screamed "we're trying to build a home here!" at a university when someone was to be cancelled. What? No... that's not what a university is. Emergent values and culture? A CEO should just start paying people and hope that a business emerges? What? It's literally the job of the leadership to steer the company.
- ada1981 6y ago
  I’d suggest reading Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan.
  - knorker 6y ago
    Seems interesting from the Ted Talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTkKSJSqU-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTkKSJSqU-I) summary. But note "Leaders nudge people and the tribe to the next stage". In this case the leader sees where the tribe is going and is steering away from that sinkhole of unhappiness (constant workplace politicking doesn't make anybody happy, even when perceived progress is being made) and unproductivity that is workplace activism. Putting a fire extinguisher on that self-destructive behavior seems like the leader's job. It's not something you should be nurturing. You may disagree about it being self-destructive, but that would be a different issue. But thanks for the book recommendation. Adding it to my list.

arawnx 6y ago

It's unfortunate that people who run companies... run companies? Do you understand how deluded you sound when you're indignantly concerntrolling over a crypto startup not abiding by the hyperintense political environ that you personally prefer? This is installing a culture. It's installing a culture that doesn't leech into either a. Areas they can't focus on primarily, or b. Areas that would directly make 10, 15, 25% of their human capital feel attacked/engaged in a hostile environment.

ada1981 6y ago
I’m not sure where you got that I prefer a hypertense climate. I’m referring to the hubris of a ceo who thinks they can dictate the culture in any meaningful way with top down mandates vs. actual leadership which is developing leaders and nudging culture via language and relationship structures.

tofuahdude 6y ago

Literally the job of executives is to define mission, vision, and the cultural approach to pursue that mission. Emergent mission, vision, and culture is a recipe for bankruptcy.

ada1981 6y ago
Depends on the organization and the type of leaders within it. At the higher levels of organizational leadership, it’s exactly emergent mission, vision and culture. This is why Tony From Zappos gives away Dave Logan’s book on Tribal Leadership for free. Stage 3 leaders try to tell everyone in the company what the culture is; Stage 4 leaders create a culture based on actual shared values (not something from a mission statement or poster on the wall or offsite activity). Most cultures are still at stage 3, but the greatest ones are stage 4+. I’ve seen this in my work over the past 20 years working with founders from some of the most successful companies (as a personal coach and advisor).

knorker 6y ago

It's a business. Not a kindergarten. Though in Silicon Valley (having worked there) I know many employees don't understand this. It's like that person who screamed "we're trying to build a home here!" at a university when someone was to be cancelled. What? No... that's not what a university is. Emergent values and culture? A CEO should just start paying people and hope that a business emerges? What? It's literally the job of the leadership to steer the company.

ada1981 6y ago
I’d suggest reading Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan.
- knorker 6y ago
  Seems interesting from the Ted Talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTkKSJSqU-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTkKSJSqU-I) summary. But note "Leaders nudge people and the tribe to the next stage". In this case the leader sees where the tribe is going and is steering away from that sinkhole of unhappiness (constant workplace politicking doesn't make anybody happy, even when perceived progress is being made) and unproductivity that is workplace activism. Putting a fire extinguisher on that self-destructive behavior seems like the leader's job. It's not something you should be nurturing. You may disagree about it being self-destructive, but that would be a different issue. But thanks for the book recommendation. Adding it to my list.