In May 2009 1251 Canadians identified their top ten personal values, their top ten values describing the current culture of Canada and their top ten values for a future desired Canadian culture. Last week (Nov 3rd 2009) the results were published (see www.royalroads.ca/tti). As a relative newcomer to Canada and as someone fascinated by values and organizational culture, I couldn’t let this pass without comment.

The results show a strong agreement between all regions and age ranges. This was somewhat surprising as I’d been led to believe that there would be a difference between Anglophone and Francophone cultures. I also thought there might be discrepancies between the generations. As far as values are concerned, Canadians seem to be more homogeneous than I’d expected.

Summary of Canadian Values May 2009

Personal value themes show what I have come to understand as a typically Canadian emphasis around honesty/respect, family/friendship along with humour/fun/positive attitude. No surprises for me here. This is one of the main reasons I love living in Canada!

Positive current culture themes around human rights and quality of life didn’t surprise me either. Having travelled widely, I really do believe that Canada is a great place to live. However there were also some strong negative themes around bureaucracy/corruption, wasted resources and unemployment/crime/violence. What is your personal perspective on this?

Overall the potentially limiting or dysfunctional values polled 32% of the selections. This figure of 32% is a measure for the dysfunction or cultural entropy in our current culture. Canada is the seventh nation to implement the National Values Assessment created by the Richard Barrett Values Centre (www.valuescentre.com). An entropy of 32% put us at a similar level to Sweden (31%), more dysfunctional than Denmark (21%), but in a much better position than the US (52%) and Argentina (60%). Don’t you just love these league tables!

The major emphasis in the desired culture is caring. From my perspective at least, 8 out of the top 10 values in a desired Canadian culture are about caring. From #2 to #8 we have caring for the elderly, homeless, sick, disadvantaged, future generations, poor and unemployed. Add human rights to the list and it’s clear to me that caring for others is enormously important. The final values in the top ten desired culture list are accountability and governmental effectiveness. These look to me like a clear reflection of some of the negative themes in the current culture.

I believe that there is a clear message here for business leaders who are building organizational cultures. If you want to build a culture that is aligned with the values of your employees then you absolutely have to show that you care. You have to show that you care about people, all people. You also have to demonstrate honesty and accountability. You have respect work life/balance. And you need to do all of this while having fun and maintaining a positive attitude. A tall order indeed, but one that I’m confidant is achievable.

I was recently presenting at a high tech sector human resources conference and was asked a great question that really got me thinking. The question was something like “Isn’t it the senior management’s responsibility to define the organizations culture?”

What a great question. The short answer is probably “Yes.” An organization’s senior team has a big influence of the organization’s culture. After all, they call the shots and model the behaviours that set the tone for the organization. Unfortunately, from my perspective at least, there is a problem with this. The senior team, more often than not, put in long hours, focus on little else but work, and some of them take themselves way too seriously!

Thankfully, there’s a longer answer to the question. While the senior team have an undeniably strong influence over an organization’s culture, there are others in the organization that can have a powerful influence.

Imagine a programmer who is a keen soccer player. She takes the time to organize a team to play in a local league. She’s contributing to a culture that values teamwork, exercise and competitiveness. Imagine an office manager who knows when everybody’s birthday is. He brings in a birthday card and gets as many people as possible to sign it. Maybe there are also muffins? He’s developing a sense of belonging within the organizational culture. Imagine the small team of volunteers who organize the organization’s United Way fund raising efforts. They’re contributing to the organization’s sense of community involvement and service.

So my final answer to the question looks a bit like this. Organizational culture can’t be mandated from the top. For sure, the people at the top of the organization have a powerful influence over the organizational culture and they must be careful how they use that influence. We also have to recognize that anyone who chooses to step up to the challenge can have a profound influence over culture no matter where they stand on the organizational hierarchy. This is one reason why I believe true leadership isn’t a position but a way of being.