Teamwork Tuesdays: Edgar Schein — The 3 Things that Impact Culture
Leaders don’t define culture with words. They define it with behavior. Edgar Schein was one of the first psychologists to study culture and define organizational culture. In his book “Organizational Culture and Leadership,” he wrote, “The most powerful mechanisms that founders, leaders, and managers have available for embedding and reinforcing culture are what they pay attention to, measure, and control.” Schein says three things impact culture: Artifacts are what we see, hear, and feel. They are the visible signs of culture. They include how the space looks and feels, how people dress and communicate, how meetings run, and what’s written in handbooks, emails, or on walls. Artifacts tell you what the culture looks like, but not always why it exists. Values are what we say we want and believe. They explain why people believe they act the way they do and include: Stated priorities (“We value teamwork.”), beliefs about what’s important (“Results matter most.”), and the reasons people ...