We’ve turned our attention to what’s next.

Our cultures are changing as a result of Covid-19. It will happen by accident or we can choose to make it deliberate. But we have to notice before we can choose.

You can feel it. We’re just getting past the initial shock of organising our days differently and managing the unexpected fatigue of endless video conferences*. Now we’re starting to wonder what’s next.

Take any group of people, even those who have never met each other before, and split them into two teams. Give them some kind of symbol, perhaps call one the yellow team and the other purple.

You have a team member who has behaved unethically and you decide to end their employment as a result. If your people think you made that decision because the person was behaving unethically, it is likely to have a significantly positive impact on your organisation's culture.

We're often told that life is a journey. The renowned British philosopher Alan Wilson Watts had a different point of view. He described the traditional western educational system as setting up this analogy from our earliest years.

Think about the last time you were about to join a new group of people. It might have been starting a new school or university, joining a sports team, volunteering for a new organisation or the big one: starting a new job.

Have you ever noticed that the most useful models and frameworks are often also the simplest? At least partly I’m sure that’s because they’re easy to remember and our brains are so full these days that complicated models are quickly forgotten.

You're a well-loved and respected leader. Your people trust you and genuinely believe you have their best interests at heart. But you're not part of your culture. Wait, what?

Now don't get me wrong, no-one is more convinced than I am that senior leader behaviour makes the defining difference in organisational culture. But what if it's our reactions to the behaviour of others that makes even more of a difference?

In my varied career as a culture change professional, I've had the great pleasure of being involved in several large scale property projects.

When you joined your current organisation, do you remember asking yourself 'I wonder why they do it like that?' fairly frequently in the first few months?

Chances are that you can readily identify someone in your workplace with a needy heart, a needy will and a needy mind.