MARCH FLASH NEWSLETTER
FAR March Luncheon
"Leading Culture: How Who We Are Transcends What We Do "
Does culture make a difference in the success of our organizations? Randy Chittum presented several approaches to answering this question in his engaging and interactive presentation to FAR members at the luncheon on March 15. "Even the best plans are attached to and impacted on by culture" was the basis of his assertion that FAR members will exercise more effective leadership with a respect for and understanding of how culture operates.
Randy began by describing both the inner and outer landscapes of our respective environments. For the outer landscape he suggested using the military metaphor, VUCA, where the letters stand for vitality, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, adding that these are "bigger than how we operate" on their effect on outcomes and need to be reviewed and considered regularly. More time was spent on "inner landscape" where leaders have more control by changing themselves and their organizations. The inner landscape was visualized as a 2x2 grid with windows titled complex, complicated, chaotic and simple. His use of the acronym SCARF, where the letters represent status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness, generated a discussion with the attendees on the differences and appropriateness of patriarchal vs. partnership leadership styles.
Randy concluded with an illustration and an exercise that allowed attendees to visualize the degree to which their organizations demonstrate the impact of particular styles on effective workplaces, especially collaborative vs. combative; proactive vs. passive; external vs. internal, and agile vs. stable cultures. For a detailed look at Randy's presentation on the power of culture and the role of the business leader in organizing systems that enable their organizations to survive and thrive, see his slides here.
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