Senn Delaney “a Heidrick & Struggles Company”: Four Principles of Culture Change

Companies have become increasingly focused on culture. The bad news is that many culture-changing initiatives still fall short of their intended purpose. The problem Senn Delaney finds is that culture is driven from the top down. Yet most executives are unable to define their company’s culture and much less figure out how to transfer it throughout the organization.

Senn Delaney uncovers four key principles that must be followed to make a successful cultural transformation occur. They are:

1. Purposeful leadership. A successful culture-shaping process requires an integrated approach that must begin at the top of the organization and be embedded throughout the company
2. Personal change. Lasting change will occur when people let go of existing habits and make personal behavior changes
3. Broad engagement with energy, momentum, and mass. Momentum, energy, and critical mass are needed to engage people in the culture at all levels of the organization because cultures resist what is most needed
4. Focused sustainability. Visible application, measurable results with feedback and coaching, rewards, and consequences are needed to make the culture real and create accountability

Read the report.