By Rev Clifford Chisha
The culture of a group to a larger extent determine the success or failure of an organisation.
Your organisation can have powerful machinery and well trained stuff but if a “sick” culture is entertained, failure becomes your portion.
Culture affects the performance of an organisation, It can have a positive effect or negative effect.
How a group of people behave and the values they embrace forms their culture or part of it.
One wise person said that a culture is made when there is a collective programming of the minds of members of an organisation that causes them to behave in a certain way, different from others.
It’s very important to periodically check the culture of team members.
Certain cultures affect service delivery.
Culture consists of consistent patterns, some formed without even thinking about them.
Culture is like a vehicle or mode of transport used to get you to your destination.
The mode of transport you use will determine how you are going to arrive and when.
A sick culture, like some modes of transport, can cause you to reach your destination safely but very tired.
You can achieve your goals but with huge costs.
It’s up to the leadership of an organisation to choose the type of culture to use or entertain.
Some modes of transport tend to take too long to get to the destination.
If the leadership of an organisation is not careful, they can be taking too long to reach their targets.
What you can ideally accomplish in six months can be accomplished in eighteen months if the vehicle (culture) you are using is sick.
In most cases, leaders are responsible for the culture of an organisation.
Nehemiah, a great leader who spearheaded the great project of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem employed a culture that helped to finish the project in amazing real time.
The project which could have taken a year was accomplished in 52 days.
Neh.6.15
“So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.”
Nehemiah employed the culture of not stopping the works, no matter the challenge.
He devised ways of not allowing the work to stop.
When threatened by enemies, he came up with means of both defending themselves and continuing to build.
Nehemiah 4:16-17
16 – From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah.
17 – who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other ”
Nehemiah was a very focused leader and he caused the people he was leading to be focused as well.
There are some cultures or systems organisations formally puts in place and those which are informally put in place.
Both should be checked properly if an organisation is to achieve it’s objectives.
