| Peer-Reviewed

Designing a Leader-like Culture: The Role of Corporate Soul Searching

Received: 17 October 2020     Accepted: 9 November 2020     Published: 31 August 2021
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Many organizations unknowingly struggle with performance because of the incongruence between espoused and actual corporate values. When this occurs, the culture is underdeveloped and perpetuates misaligned actions. This is often a root cause of performance issues. Therefore, investments in culture analysis and development can reap profound rewards in achieving systemic change that leads to organizational success. Backed by leadership and organizational theory, the article outlines how executives and key partners can embark on an intentional process of defining and fostering the right culture. Culture should be embedded into any corporate strategic planning endeavor as it requires ongoing intentionality. It is recommended that external partners be engaged to provide guidance in this process because the needed structure and objectivity is less likely to occur when executed by internal stakeholders who are influenced by organizational power dynamics and politics. Executives however, are the key stakeholders of any culture-forming process as they are responsible for defining, role-modeling, and rewarding key behaviors. The process also includes Corporate Soul Searching (CSS) whereby values and actions are defined, followed by reinforcing structures, accountability systems, and ongoing cultural assessment. All of these elements must be aligned to yield a leader-like culture. Outcomes of this process include strong employee engagement and a clear values system synchronized with mission and strategy.

Published in International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18
Page(s) 103-108
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Corporate Culture, Leadership, Corporate Soul Searching (CSS), Values, Performance Management, Executives, Strategic Planning

References
[1] Campbell, J. & Göritz, A. (2014). Culture corrupts! A Qualitative Study of Organizational Culture in Corrupt Organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 120 (3), 291-311.
[2] Chamorro-Premuzie, T. (2019). To prevent burnout, hire better bosses. HBR. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2019/08/to-prevent-burnout-hire-better-bosses
[3] Elkington, R., Pearse, N. J., Moss, J., Van, d. S., & Martin, S. (2017). Global leaders' perceptions of elements required for effective leadership development in the twenty-first century. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38 (8), 1038-1056.
[4] Ellison, C. (2019). Time and Change: The Importance of Innovation and Leadership to the Future of Surgery. Annals of Surgery, 270 (3), 391–399. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000003457
[5] Featherall,, Chaitoff, &Simonetti (2018). Creating a culture of continuous improvement in outpatient laboratories: Effects on wait times, employee engagement, and efficiency. American Journal of Medical Quality. https://doi.org/10.1177/1062860618808383
[6] Gorringe, G., Swensen, S., Peters, D., & Caviness, J. (2016). Leadership by design: intentional organization development of physician leaders. Journal of Management Development, 35 (4), 549–570. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-08-2014-0080
[7] Groysberg, B., Lee, J., Price, J. & Yo-Jud, J. (2018). The Leader’s guide to corporate culture: Changing your organization’s culture can improve its performance. Here’s how to do that. Harvard Business Review.
[8] Haid, M. (2019). Organizational culture: The real reason transformation fails. Lee Hecht Harrison. Retrieved from https://www.lhh.com/us/en/organizations/our-insights/organizational-culture-the-real-reason-transformation-fails
[9] Hartnell, C. A., Kinicki, A. J., Schurer Lambert, L., Fugate, M., and Doyle Corner, P. (2016). Do similarities or differences between CEO leadership and organizational culture have a more positive effect on firm performance? A test of competing predictions. J. Appl. Psychol. 101, 846–861. doi: 10.1037/apl0000083.
[10] Hartnell, C., Ou, A., Kinicki, A., Choi, D., & Karam, E. (2019). A meta-analytic test of organizational culture’s association with elements of an organization’s system and its relative predictive validity on organizational outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104 (6), 832–850. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000380
[11] Harvard Business Publishing (2018). The 2018 state of leadership development, Meeting the transformation imperative. Retrieved from https://www.harvardbusiness.org/insight/the-state-of-leadership-development-report/
[12] Herkes J, Churruca K, Ellis LA, et al. (2019). How people fit in at work: Systematic review of the association between person–organisation and person–group fit with staff outcomes in healthcare. BMJ Open; 9: e026266. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026266.
[13] Howard-Grenville, J. (2020). How to sustain your organization's culture when everyone is remote. MIT Sloan Management Review, 61 (4), 1-4. Retrieved from https://proxy2.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy2.ncu.edu/docview/2427312143?accountid=139631
[14] Hultman, K., (2020). Building a culture of employee optimization. Organization Development Journal, 38 (2), 35-48. Retrieved from https://proxy2.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy2.ncu.edu/docview/2399869453?accountid=139631
[15] Katzenbach, J., Oelschlegel, C., & Thomas J. (2016) 10 principles of organizational culture. Strategy + Business. Retrieved from https://www.strategy-business.com/feature/10-Principles-of-Organizational-Culture?gko=1f9d7
[16] Laguna, M.; Walachowska, K.; Gorgievski-Duijvesteijn, M. J.; Moriano, J. A. (2019). Authentic leadership and employees’ innovative behaviour: a multilevel investigation in three countries. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 16, 4201. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/21/4201/htm
[17] Larson, J. A. (2015). Organizational and process reengineering: Approaches for health care transformation. Boston, MA: CRC Press.
[18] Liao, S., Zhou, X., Guo, Z., & Li, Z. (2019). How Does Leader Narcissism Influence Employee Voice: The Attribution of Leader Impression Management and Leader-Member Exchange. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (10), 1819. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16101819.
[19] Mannion, R., Davies, H. (2019). Raising and responding to frontline concerns in healthcare BMJ; 366: l4944. Retrieved from https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l4944.long
[20] Metz, D., Ilieș, L., & Nistor, R. (2020). The impact of organizational culture on customer service effectiveness from a sustainability perspective. Sustainability, 12 (15), 6240.
[21] Meng, & Berger. (2019). The impact of organizational culture and leadership performance on PR professionals’ job satisfaction: Testing the joint mediating effects of engagement and trust. Public Relations Review, 45 (1), 64-75.
[22] Mullen, J., Fiset, J., & Rhéaume, A. (2018). Destructive forms of leadership: The effects of abusive supervision and incivility on employee health and safety. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 39 (8), 946-961.
[23] Page, L., Boyson, B. & Arya, T. (2019), Creating a Culture that thrives: Fostering respect, trust, and psychological safety in the workplace. Organization Development Review. Vol. 51. No. 1. Retrieved from
[24] Painter, M. (2014). Artificial Versus Authentic Leadership. T+D.
[25] Painter, M. (2019). Leadership culture by design. Organization Development Review. Vol. 51. No. 2.
[26] Park, K. (2019). The Relationship between Power Type, Work Engagement, and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (6), 1015. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16061015.
[27] PSI (2019) Building a high-performance healthcare culture. Why is it so hard? Retrieved from www.psionline.com/talent
[28] Rider, E., Gilligan, M., Osterberg, L., Litzelman, D., Plews-Ogan, M., Weil, A., … Branch, W. (2018). Healthcare at the crossroads: The need to shape an organizational culture of humanistic teaching and practice. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33 (7), 1092–1099. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-018-4470-2
[29] Schein, E. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership (3rd ed., Jossey-Bass business & management series). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[30] Schein, E., Schein, P. (2019). Corporate Culture Survival Guide (3rd ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ.
[31] Shanafelt, T., Schein, E., Minor, L., Trockel, M., Schein, P., & Kirch, D. (2019). Healing the Professional Culture of Medicine. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 94 (8), 1556–1566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.03.026
[32] Studer, Q. (2013). A culture of high performance: Achieving higher quality at a lower cost. Fire Starter Publishing.
[33] Walker, S. (2019). The economy's last best hope: Superstar middle managers. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-economys-last-best-hope-superstar-middle-managers-11553313606
[34] Yanti, S., & Dahlan, J. (2017). The effects of organizational culture, leadership behavior, and job satisfaction on employee organizational commitment. Journal of Positive Management, 8 (4), 80-96.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Matthew James Painter. (2021). Designing a Leader-like Culture: The Role of Corporate Soul Searching. International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 9(3), 103-108. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Matthew James Painter. Designing a Leader-like Culture: The Role of Corporate Soul Searching. Int. J. Econ. Behav. Organ. 2021, 9(3), 103-108. doi: 10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Matthew James Painter. Designing a Leader-like Culture: The Role of Corporate Soul Searching. Int J Econ Behav Organ. 2021;9(3):103-108. doi: 10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18,
      author = {Matthew James Painter},
      title = {Designing a Leader-like Culture: The Role of Corporate Soul Searching},
      journal = {International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization},
      volume = {9},
      number = {3},
      pages = {103-108},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijebo.20210903.18},
      abstract = {Many organizations unknowingly struggle with performance because of the incongruence between espoused and actual corporate values. When this occurs, the culture is underdeveloped and perpetuates misaligned actions. This is often a root cause of performance issues. Therefore, investments in culture analysis and development can reap profound rewards in achieving systemic change that leads to organizational success. Backed by leadership and organizational theory, the article outlines how executives and key partners can embark on an intentional process of defining and fostering the right culture. Culture should be embedded into any corporate strategic planning endeavor as it requires ongoing intentionality. It is recommended that external partners be engaged to provide guidance in this process because the needed structure and objectivity is less likely to occur when executed by internal stakeholders who are influenced by organizational power dynamics and politics. Executives however, are the key stakeholders of any culture-forming process as they are responsible for defining, role-modeling, and rewarding key behaviors. The process also includes Corporate Soul Searching (CSS) whereby values and actions are defined, followed by reinforcing structures, accountability systems, and ongoing cultural assessment. All of these elements must be aligned to yield a leader-like culture. Outcomes of this process include strong employee engagement and a clear values system synchronized with mission and strategy.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Designing a Leader-like Culture: The Role of Corporate Soul Searching
    AU  - Matthew James Painter
    Y1  - 2021/08/31
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18
    T2  - International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
    JF  - International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
    JO  - International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
    SP  - 103
    EP  - 108
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7616
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20210903.18
    AB  - Many organizations unknowingly struggle with performance because of the incongruence between espoused and actual corporate values. When this occurs, the culture is underdeveloped and perpetuates misaligned actions. This is often a root cause of performance issues. Therefore, investments in culture analysis and development can reap profound rewards in achieving systemic change that leads to organizational success. Backed by leadership and organizational theory, the article outlines how executives and key partners can embark on an intentional process of defining and fostering the right culture. Culture should be embedded into any corporate strategic planning endeavor as it requires ongoing intentionality. It is recommended that external partners be engaged to provide guidance in this process because the needed structure and objectivity is less likely to occur when executed by internal stakeholders who are influenced by organizational power dynamics and politics. Executives however, are the key stakeholders of any culture-forming process as they are responsible for defining, role-modeling, and rewarding key behaviors. The process also includes Corporate Soul Searching (CSS) whereby values and actions are defined, followed by reinforcing structures, accountability systems, and ongoing cultural assessment. All of these elements must be aligned to yield a leader-like culture. Outcomes of this process include strong employee engagement and a clear values system synchronized with mission and strategy.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Leadership Development, University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

  • Sections