We dug into the ArtsFwd archives to revisit four posts from the past two years that focus on organizational culture.
This post is part of this month’s in-depth exploration of the kinds of organizational culture that support adaptive change.
In our May topic introductory post, we shared ideas about 3 different levels of organizational culture and about 4 different types of organizational culture.
However, culture is not a new topic for us — we’ve previously explored organizational culture as one of the key enablers (or constraints) of innovation. Here, we revisit 4 posts from the past two years on ArtsFwd that might provoke your thinking about organizational culture:
- Survey Results: Conflict Management and the Adaptive Organization (Conducted by ArtsFwd in the fall of 2012). How important is effective conflict management to the success of arts and culture organizations? Through this survey, we found that there was a clear relationship between an organization’s approach to new ideas and its response to conflict.
- Activity: Exploring Organizational Culture, from our “DIY” series and Toolkit (March 2013). Try this activity to identify the aspects of your organizational culture that may enable or impede your innovation process.
- How to Resolve Conflict with Dignity, by John McCann (December 2012). Donna Hicks’ 10 Elements of Dignity introduces a different approach to conflict resolution.
- 6 Types of Group Decisions, part of our “Tipster” series (March 2013). What are some different ways of decision-making in groups?
But wait — there’s more! What actually happens when an organization’s culture shifts to make way for new practices? We recently published two case studies about organizations that experienced significant cultural shifts as they undertook new projects in EmcArts’ Innovation Labs: Denver Center Theatre Company and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Read both case studies here.
Share your experience
What is your organization’s culture like? What kind of practices have you seen as supportive (or intolerant) of change? How have you seen leaders allow for (or reject) ambiguity and uncertainty around new organizational initiatives?
We’re gathering your responses to better understand how organizations build cultures that support and embrace change. Use the form below to share your own experiences with shifting the culture at your organization.