Why Identifying Cultural Misalignment At Work, Is Harder Than We Think
- Mar 31, 2023
- 3 min read
Written by: Emma Collyer, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Do we truly understand the culture of our workplace? Does it match our priorities and values? What impact do we have individually on the work environment and culture that is created? I have been reflecting on some of these difficult questions on a recent return trip from Canada to the UK to see family and friends.
This trip had been postponed due to COVID, so we were seeing people again that we had not crossed paths with for 5 years or more. The conversations flowed, the wine flowed, and it appeared in many ways as though nothing had changed. It was a snapshot of what our previous life used to be.
What I noticed was how easily our mindset shifted back into the ‘culture’ of being part of UK society. We were talking again about cars, houses, the weather and how our kids were doing in school. Similar topics to those we discuss in Canada (although perhaps not the weather) but there was a different familiar energy reappearing.
This energy felt heavy. The environment we had stepped back into, with our peers, had shifted our thinking back and we were faced with ourselves from 5 years ago and did we really want to put on those shoes again?
We had changed, our priorities had changed, but we could only observe this once we had stepped away from the ‘culture’ we were part of and review it objectively.
It strikes me that my clients are often faced with similar challenges when they are considering why they might not be happy at work or with their careers.
Frequently clients may cite disappointment with where they are on their career trajectory or being passed over for promotion one too many times. And these are valid reasons of themselves, but sometimes there is a much deeper reason for someone being unhappy which is harder to identify.
That is the misalignment someone subconsciously feels with the underlying environment and culture that they are part of. This can often creep up on you over time, as priorities in your life change but your working culture and environment does not.
But how can you identify it?
If you have experienced different companies, then it is easier to spot cultural misalignments. There is something that generally feels wrong or ‘off’. In extreme cases this is often demonstrated by the way employees and customers are negatively treated.
Questions such as ‘Do you like what your organisation and leaders do?’ usually helps to highlight where the problem lies.
But if that organisation is all that you have known through your working career (or perhaps a large part of it) then it is more uncomfortable to identify this misalignment simply because you have contributed to it and helped shape it.
So, then the question becomes harder ‘Do you like who you are and what you are doing?’. Not an easy one to digest!
Even once you have identified the problem as workplace culture, what options do you have?
Staying where you are, at first appears the easiest option. You know how things work. You know the people and structures. But now you have the awareness that this is not a good fit for you anymore. Do you want to stay and put energy in trying to change the culture you are part of and helped create?
But moving away from the familiar is uncomfortable. The path is unknown and having to learn new ‘ways of working’ and creating new networks brings its own challenges.
The ultimate question therefore becomes ‘will this culture and environment help me grow?’ Once you know the answer, it is much easier to decide and formulate a plan but first you must allow yourself to detach from your personal contribution and shaping of the environment you want to leave behind.
If this article resonates with you and you would like to discuss your workplace challenges in confidence, please schedule a free call using this link: https://go.oncehub.com/EmmaCollyer
Emma Collyer, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Emma Collyer is the founder of Aspire Executive Coaching, a company dedicated to helping executives, leaders and aspiring leaders, to grow and succeed in their business and careers. She created the business after experiencing firsthand the transformative power of coaching on her own development and growth. Her coaching draws on her own leadership experience, working across the built environment sector alongside environmental specialists, engineers, planners, project managers and architects. Her mission: To empower individuals, to that they have the courage to embrace change and achieve exceptional results.
