Why culture is so powerful and how to shape it

Christian Muntean Aug. 8, 2021

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Culture is to people what water is to fish. It is everywhere, it is necessary, we use it to propel ourselves forward and navigate. We can't move or function without it … but we don't notice it. In fact, we won't notice it at all until there is change.

Everyone experiences culture but most have a difficult time recognizing it or describing it. I was working with a group of Alaska Native leaders as they were trying to define and identify "culture" as one of their core values. One of the leaders stood up and said, "This is just what we do. It isn't something we can define."

Directly after high school, I moved to Mexico for a while. When I returned, my first job was as a delivery driver for an auto body supply store. In a conversation with the owner about the differences between cultures, he made one of those I-know-what-I'm-talking-about-because-I'm-the-owner statements, "America has no culture." End of that conversation.

Despite what he said, as leaders, it is important that we are able to 'see' our own cultures and learn to intentionally build and maintain ones that best serve our organizations.

What culture is and why you don't get it

Anthropologically, culture is often compared to an onion. It has many layers:

The outer layer: On the outside of the onion there is what most people describe as culture: The way people dress, language, what they eat, how they dance, etc. This is what most people mean when they say culture. In classic anthropology language, these are called "cultural artifacts." This is the surface of culture.

The middle layer: Beneath there is a middle layer that has to do with what is understood as appropriate or expected behavior and the values that help guide those behaviors. This can be things like how you greet each other, how genders are related to, class differences, and so on.

The core layer: The core is where key beliefs or the shared worldview reside. An early instructor once described this as a "Truth Box." It's a place where we 'just know' that certain things are true about life and reality. We place them in our "Truth Box" and never reconsider or examine them.

Culture at work

Each workplace forms its own culture to varying degrees of strength and identity. It is easy to pick out that "construction workers dress like/talk like…." and "office workers dress like/talk like…." but this is focusing mostly on the outer layer. The inner layer has to do with professional ethics, work ethic, whether or not people trust each other, celebrate or compete with each other, etc. The core layer is the key one: This is where we discover what deep beliefs look like:

• Beliefs about abundance or scarcity: If they get theirs – will we get ours? Or are we creators of wealth and value?
• Beliefs about the value of employees: Replaceable and costly? Or family and priceless?
• Beliefs about our role with our customers: Is our role to serve them? Or to fleece them?
• Beliefs about workplace relationships: Is life is about survival of the fittest? Or we can build and grow and become better people together?

These are core concepts. My bias is evident. Likely as you read through them you found yourself reacting positively or negatively to different statements. This reaction reflects your core beliefs.

The unstoppable force: How we are enculturated and what happens when we rely on accidents

Like water to the fish, culture is pervasive and omnipresent in our workplaces. Unlike water to a fish, leaders have the opportunity to be shapers and crafters of their culture. New employees are formally enculturated when they attend new-employee orientations. However, as anyone with job experience knows, what you are taught formally may or may not match up with what is experienced.

New employees learn to watch closely for things like:

• Exceptions to the rules: Is it possible? Who gets to and how?
• Relationships with authority: Is smiling compliance expected? Is management absent or present? Easily manipulated, rigid or open to input?
• Ethics: Do our co-workers reinforce values and standards in their practices or do they support hiding and covering up?
• Innovation: Encouraged? Squelched?

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Christian Muntean is a seasoned expert in fostering business growth and profitability. With a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership and certifications as a Master Coach, Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), and International Mergers & Acquisitions Expert (IM&A), he guides entrepreneurial leaders through growth, succession planning, and exit strategies. He is an accomplished author of three books, including Train to Lead. Christian resides in Anchorage, Alaska, with his family.  Learn More »

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