Emotional Culture

“Cognitive culture is undeniably important to an organization’s success. But it’s only part of the story. The other critical part is what we call the group’s emotional culture: the shared affective values, norms, artifacts, and assumptions that govern which emotions people have and express at work and which ones they are better off suppressing.” (Sigal Barsade and Olivia A. O’Neill, Manage Your Emotional Culture)

Being aware about emotions and the way these influence behaviors, relationships and the workplace culture is mandatory within any organization interested to thrive. Good compensation and benefits could retain employees temporarily, but if they aren’t happy with the workplace culture and the way things work in the organization, sooner or later, they’ll find another place.

Studies show that people who work in a culture where they experience positive emotions and they feel free to express their emotions are more satisfied with their jobs, committed to the organization, and accountable for their performance (see for example the longitudinal study by Sigal Barsade and Olivia A. O’Neill, What’s Love Got to Do With It? The Influence of a Culture of Companionate Love in the Long-term Care Setting.)

Professors Sigal Barsade and Olivia A. O’Neill, surveyed 185 employees, 108 patients, and 42 patient family members at two points in time, 16 months apart, at a healthcare facility. Employees who felt they worked in a loving, caring culture reported higher levels of satisfaction and teamwork. They showed up to work more often. Their research also demonstrated that this type of culture related directly to client outcomes.
Barsade writes: “These findings hold true across industries. We conducted a follow-up study, surveying 3,201 employees in seven different industries from financial services to real estate and the results were the same. People who worked in a culture where they felt free to express affection, tenderness, caring and compassion for one another,­ were more satisfied with their jobs, committed to the organization, and accountable for their performance.”

I work with people from organizations to support them to create a positive culture within their teams and, at a higher level, transform the organization culture. In the process I use tools and culture canvas developed by Riders&Elephants, Liberationist, Barrett Values Centre, Solutionsurfers and others. The Emotional Culture Deck from Riders & Elephants is #1 game in the world for better workplace culture.

Values-based Leadership

Our values reflect what is important to us and our unmet needs, they are the energetic drivers of our aspirations and intentions. Together with our beliefs, they are the causal factors that drive our decision-making. In order to grow and develop, it’s useful to be aware of our values and how these values influence our decisions and actions.

Developed by the Barrett Values Centre, the Cultural Transformation Tools® (CTT) are among the most detailed and comprehensive cultural diagnostics commercially available to companies. These are used world-wide by corporations, NGOs, government, municipal agencies, communities, schools and nations to determine the personal needs of employees, the extent to which they feel aligned with the culture of the organization and to assess the level of employee engagement.

Values-based leadership describes 7 Levels of leadership consciousness, considering that full spectrum leaders are the most effective ones.