Organizational Identity the Foundation for Organizational Culture

Much has been written about culture and how it plays into the DNA of an organization. As a student of organizational structure and leadership, I have read and studied how culture becomes a foundational piece of an organization. Whether it is John Coleman’s article for HBR about the six factors of vision, values, practices, people, narrative, and place to Keith Richards’ piece about value alignments necessity in corporate culture, I have felt a piece missing.

This was until I read Andres Hatum and Luciana Silvestri’s article about FCBarcelona.  The interest in the article came from my love of football and reading about the business behind one of the largest and most successful football clubs in the world. However, what I read turned my thinking about organizational culture on its head. The basic premise that Hatum and Silverstri put forth is that culture comes from identity of the organization. They state:

While culture tells us how to behave, identity tells us who we are. That services two purposes. By serving as a lens, identity helps make sense of the environment. It also informs action by guiding employees’ responses. Together, these dimensions allow organizations to maintain a sense of balance between “who we are” and “what we do.”

Even though this concept hit a new chord in my organizational thought, Stephen Downey wrote about this idea in 1986 for Public Relations Quarterly in his article “The Relationship Between Corporate Culture and Corporate Identity.” Downey was remarking that the identity is not the brand or image of the organization, instead the identity was the “why” of the organization. This is still an issue that permeates organizations, and specifically leadership.

Current understanding still views identity as coming from culture. It is in the creation of culture in an organization that identity, or image, can be realized. However, this can lead to an organization operating in a manner that is counter to its true identity. A leader must help define and create the “who” of the organization so the behavior of the organization is in unison. If the “who” and the “what” do not become synced then mission and vision can become confusing and lead to a dysfunctional and poorly operating organization.

As many organizations continue to build on their success or, on the other hand, deal with issues, leadership should re-examine the organization’s identity. When identity is realized throughout an organization, beginning with the executive leadership and weaving through the entire structure, that is when the “real culture is understood. This leads to better processes, products, and ultimately revenue for the organization.

As a leader, do you know your organization’s identity? Or, do you operate in a culture that might be contrary to the true nature of “who” the organization was created to be? If you do not know the identity of your organization or its relationship to the organizational culture as a leader, then it is time to discover the identity of the organization you lead. Discovering the identity might set the organization back on to a path of success and growth that you have been to trying to find. You owe it to your organization.

Leadership by Influence or Authority

Leadership is often defined by the impact that an individual has on an organization and their ability to influence others to engage and own the vision of the organization. This can be accomplished through several methods, but it is partnered with the authority to put programs and ideas into processes. However, what happens when you move from having authority to another role?

To some leaders, this can be a death call to their leadership opportunities. To the true leaders, the opportunity to lead through influence becomes a role that becomes significant in being a part of the success of an organization. Influence leadership can be difficult to cultivate but a true leader is still sought out by others for discussions about ideas, processes, and strategy. Even for a young leader, influence leadership provides an opportunity to be a mentor or teacher to others as they discover their gifts and talents. Experiences and knowledge in a leader can be shared and used to assist others to make significant and substantial contributions to their organization.

The positive part about being an influence leader is that senior leaders in a healthy organization will recognize the contributions that are being made and look to place that leader in a more significant role. In an unhealthy organization, the leader might be viewed as being disruptive or envied by senior leaders because of the influence the person might have on others. If the influence leader is operating in the best interest of the organization by providing support to others, in the end, even in an unhealthy organization, they will be recognized and provided with other opportunities.

It is easy to lead with authority and learning to lead with authority is necessary in successful leadership. However, it is the individual that masters the art of leadership by influence that is given additional opportunities to make significant contribution to organizations.