A Cultural Leader's role is to educate and mentor members of the organisation using the purpose, vision and values.
A key tool for this is cultural catch-ups. Using tools like the Career Valuation to frame conversations and refer back to the organisation’s values regularly, communicating their meaning and checking in on peoples alignment to them. Career Valuation conversations are a type of cultural catch-up. However good Cultural Leaders will do this on a cadence that best suits them, their cohort and the organisation.
Using adapt's values as an example, if someone was refusing the use the platform to manage their teams, make their work transparent, etc., are they ‘Walking the adapt way’?
Running a cultural catch-up is all about collecting data, giving everyone a voice and really listening to what they are saying. How can we as an organisation do better?
Some tips and tricks on running a Career Valuation conversation are:
- Set the time and find a suitable location. We recommend somewhere out of the office, like a coffee shop, to create an atmosphere conducive to an open, authentic conversation, provided you can still access the platform. The first catch-up will probably need to be one to two hours.
- Establish frequency - we recommend every three to six months, unless there is an issue that needs support, in which case you may need to meet more often for a period.
- Get context from the team leader - ask the cohort member’s team leader for any context.
- Have the necessary IT ready to go - laptop and internet connection to type directly into adapt platform.
- Values book - have a copy of the values at hand as an easy reference point to ensure the conversation is viewed from the perspective of the organisation’s values.
- Complete values audit - at your first catch-up, do a values audit. Do they understand the values? Have they asked themselves the guiding questions? Are their values aligned with the organisation’s values?
- At the end of the catch-up, discuss timing for your next catch-up. The metrics will determine the timing.
- Check out - both parties reflect on the catch-up and are clear if any action is needed.
- Give feedback to the team leader - is there something they can help with?
What if there is an issue with the team leader? You might need to talk to their Cultural Leader about how best to handle the situation.
Build Cultural Leadership