Key Takeaways from "Culture Change Strategy. Three Rules for Making Culture Change…" by Roger Martin:
- Culture change consulting often focuses on large-scale (“wholesale”) interventions like reorganizing structures, changing policies, or rolling out new processes. Big consultancies pitch culture change as primarily driven by formal mechanisms—structures, incentives, systems.
- Real and lasting culture change, however, happens at the “retail” level—through daily interpersonal interactions, not distant, top-down initiatives. Changing culture requires leaders to model the behaviors they want to see, influencing others through direct engagement.
- Roger Martin’s “steering mechanism” framework identifies three domains:
- Formal mechanisms: structures, systems, processes, policies.
- Cultural mechanisms: collective mental models guiding interpretations and actions.
- Interpersonal mechanisms: everyday interactions and problem-solving routines by team members.
- Interpersonal mechanisms are the linchpin for culture change. Changing formal mechanisms alone doesn’t directly impact culture unless leaders actively change how they interact and solve problems alongside others.
- Three practical rules for driving culture change:
- Think retail, not wholesale: Avoid master strokes or sweeping restructures; focus on close-up, interpersonal interventions.
- Focus on the interpersonal domain: Meaningful change happens through team interactions—how problems are solved and decisions are made together.
- Change yourself first as a leader: Leadership behavior sets the standard; leaders must consistently model the desired culture, as “Do as I say, not as I do” never works.
- Leaders should demonstrate desired behaviors in visible, consistent ways. As others observe and mirror these behaviors, culture change can cascade through even large organizations faster than expected.
- Case examples:
- A CEO visiting retail stores and problem-solving with staff to drive a collaborative culture.
- A dean engaging with non-faculty staff to encourage a student-centered culture.
Summary:
Culture change is difficult but possible. Avoid relying solely on formal restructures. Instead, focus on changing interpersonal dynamics and leadership behavior. The shift starts with personal actions, not broad policies or announcements. Model the change you want to see—up close, one interaction at a time.