Organizational Culture

Institutional culture is critical to understanding the context within which we lead as well how we lead

You may have heard a quote like "culture trumps strategy" or "culture eats strategy for lunch". Institutional culture is critical to understanding the context within which we lead as well how we lead. The January -February 2018 issue of the Harvard Business Review (pages 43 to 57) has an excellent section on organizational culture. Here is a quote from the introduction with a minor rewrite by me:

"Strategy and culture are among the primary levers at a top leader's disposal in their never-ending quest to maintain organizational viability and effectiveness. Strategy offers a formal logic for the organization's goals and orients people around them. Culture expresses goals through values and beliefs, and guides activity through shared assumptions and group norms."

While culture may not completely trump strategy, understanding both is a necessary precondition to leading your institution to address the important issues it faces.

All the best!!!!!