The power of invisible rules

The book Expedition Agility includes various working methods to tackle changing to agility in a playful, light-hearted way. Each blog article highlights one working method to inspire you and to experiment with. This time it is ‘this is how we do it’.

The unwritten rules

The culture of an organization is often hidden in unwritten rules, habits and quiet expectations. Only when we make these implicit behaviors explicit can we understand and address the real culture.

The ‘this is how we do it’ method helps teams to expose these hidden rules, so that an open conversation can be had about them. By shadowing teams and observing how they work together, who makes the decisions and what patterns occur, you gain insight into the deeper layers of the organizational culture.

This working method challenges teams to reflect on the questions they often don’t ask out loud. For example: what do you have to do to belong? And: how do we deal with criticism or change? The answers to these questions not only make the culture visible, but also offer the opportunity to consciously reflect on what works well and what needs improvement.

Format: This is how we do it

• Walk along with one or more teams where the change will start, for example the teams that will be the first to try out a new way of working. Observe how people work, how they work together, what the interaction patterns are, who determines what, what the pecking order and power relations are, etc.
• Name a number of questions to which the relevant teams will give ‘this is how we do it’ answers. Examples are:
  – What do you have to do to fit in?
  – What do you have to do to not belong? When are you out?
  – What are we not talking about?
  – Who or what always gets priority?
  – How do we deal with compliments?
  – How do we deal with people who are critical?
  – What is our reaction when another change is announced?
  – What makes us run faster?
  – Who is actually in charge?
• Invite the teams to discuss the similarities and differences in the answers. Also give your observations back to the team. You can ask questions such as: what is the strength of the team? What would we like to improve?

This working method makes it clear that culture is not only something that happens, but also something that we form together. By making the unwritten rules and silent patterns explicit, a shared awareness is created within the team about how they work together and which norms determine daily practice. This provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on what works and what doesn’t – and to jointly determine which elements of the culture should be preserved and which should change.

The strength of this working method lies in making the invisible visible, so that teams can not only grow in effectiveness, but also in mutual connection. The conversation that follows is a first step towards a more conscious, stronger and more open organizational culture.

Source: Expedition Agility

By: Els Verkaik, Edwin Clerkx and Jeroen Venneman

Ontvang onze updates

Vul je e-mailadres in en ontvang 1x per maand een update in je mail met alle blogs die geplaatst zijn op onze site.