We have heard stories of organizations succeeding so well under a leader, but they go haywire immediately after the leader has left. In fact, this happens in any type of organization or groups not just the corporate ones, like institutions, research organizations, social cause groups, families and so on. On the other hand, we have also seen organizations that carried their original founders’ values deeply instilled and continued to thrive and kept growing year after year even after the leader leaves. Why do some organizations continue to prosper and some fail after their leaders exit? That’s where the culture comes into aid.
Imagine a person stretching a rubber band from its original state to a desired state. Just like the person stretching a rubber band, a leader is growing an organization to a desired state. A leader must constantly apply some force to maintain that position. We know that rubber band goes back to its original state when the force is not applied or released. Is it the same case with an organization? Yes, it is! When the leader withdraws the force, it might go back to its original position. How to prevent this receding?
The only way to prevent the rubber band from going back to its original state is by hypothetically increasing the thickness of the rubber band. This act of increasing thickness is parallel to building a good culture within an organization. There are many-many benefits of building a good culture within an organization. As the thickness increases, the stretched state of the band become its original or natural state. The band can be stretched even further with minimal effort and keeps growing. Similarly, building a good culture gives an enormous potential to keep the organization growing. Employees and other resources do not have to stretch too thin and reach a threshold. It requires a very minimal and gentle leadership force to keep expanding the organization when the cultural reinforcement keeps happening simultaneously.
Increasing the thickness of the rubber band while the band is being stretched gently may require some chemical materials/elements and some processes to do so. Similarly, there are several elements to build a good culture within a growing organization. However, the employees and their behavioral values are the key elements to influence good culture. Cultural reinforcement enhances the growth exponentially. By following regular habits, organizations can inculcate good values and thereby be more proactive and innovative to stay ahead of competition and be more socially responsible and sustainable.
