Your culture will make you or break you. It is either working for your growth, or it has become a growth deterrent. The culture where you work is hugely important.

If you are in tune with the organizational culture, you will feel a sense of belongingness. You will feel like you are a valued part of the community. Are you encouraged to “get better” and to grow? This makes it MUCH easier to get direction or discern how and where you need to progress as a leader.

These companies have a “growth-mindset” cultures.
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An organization with a growth-mindset has a culture of development. They view their members as people who are committed to learning and becoming better versions of themselves. ‍

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Essentially, if you’re gearing up to be the best leader you can be, being part of an organization with a growth-mindset culture will really benefit you.

The other type of organization? They are “fixed mindset” organizations. It doesn’t take much to figure those out. They believe they know the “right way” to do something and they continue doing it that way forever! You are not encouraged and/or expected to keep growing or getting better.

So, where are you? How do you know? Edgar Schein from MIT breaks down organizational culture into three levels so you know where to look.

1. WHAT YOU SEE. These are also called ‘artifacts’ and usually pertain to the things you can actually see like workflows, structure, processes, facilities, and behavioral rules. Even the physical aspect of your organization is part of this level—interior design, dress code, and even furniture.
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2. PUBLICIZED BELIEFS AND VALUES. These are your organization’s core values, or the ideologies that your organization emphasizes in public settings and internal training programs.
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3. IMPLICIT VALUES. Compared to the publicized beliefs and values, these are underlying but very crucial. They are not often discussed but these values are actually the ones that have the most influence on people. It is basically “How we do things around here.”
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So, here’s your assignment for the week:

1. Take a look at the three levels.
2. Really figure out: What are your artifacts, beliefs, and values.
3. Ask yourself if these make up a growth-mindset culture or a fixed-mindset one.

Either way, you are in charge of your life and YOU MUST take responsibility for your growth. More questions? Hit me up at rob@leadertribe.com and let’s talk!

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