I was curious about what was killing some corporate software cultures so I sat down with Richard Hammer, Enterprise Architect/Strategist with Cortex Leadership to find out. What I heard were 5 things that could kill any company culture, not just an IT one. Turns out that IT isn’t all that different after all.
Here are the 5 ways that culture can crash your software (or any other business environment):
Employees taking sides
"the business" vs. "technology" - the business said this, technology did that. Nothing ever gets done, no one can seem to speak that language. You hear things like “What are they saying?” “How can anyone understand them” “Why did the business commit that to the customer?” “When is technology going to deliver what they promised months ago?”
These are the pitfalls of poorly performing teams ... on both sides. A rift develops and both sides lose sight of the fact that they need one another to be successful. The only "us vs. them" in business should be with competitors and differentiating yourself in the marketplace. If you do not have a together with your technology / development team, find a solution today. Make it the #1 priority.
"Working together" starts to mean telling, not listening
Playing the blame game
Technology / development is a black box which no one else in the company understands
Cowboys kill culture
Do you recognize any of these 5 behaviors in your company culture right now?
Having a facilitated conversation with your leadership team to determine what principles and practices could help to modify them. Ignoring them will not make them go away.
If you are not on the leadership team at your organization and are experiencing any of these issues, try having a respectful conversation with the person you report to using this as a catalyst for the discussion. Ask if they are noticing the same things you are? Sometimes it takes a moment to raise awareness before things can change. These behaviors did not surface overnight and their solutions will take focus and consistency to return the dividend of a return to higher productivity levels and a more pleasant work environment.
Comments