In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are famously transported to…somewhere that isn’t Kansas. Realizing that she needs help from the wizard, Dorothy embarks on a journey toward her ultimate destination: home.
Over the course of her adventure, Dorothy meets other characters in need of assistance and they journey on together. By the end of the story, Dorothy sees that she always had a way to get home, she just didn’t realize it. All she needed was to be empowered to take ownership of her situation.
By the time she returns home, Dorothy is the same person she was at the beginning of the story; she’s just a more improved version of herself. We take this metaphor even further in our best-selling book, The OZ Principle.
Culture change doesn’t happen overnight. In order to successfully shift your organizational culture to achieve your results, you must be intentional and deliberate about the experiences you create. You must be willing to go on a journey, like Dorothy.
[newsletter_module]
What is a Culture Journey?
Toxic culture is easy to spot: high turnover, low engagement, poor business outcomes. No one wants to have a toxic culture; in fact, most organizations would love to be recognized as a Great Place to Work. But being a great place to work is no accident: the organizations on all “great place to work” lists constantly strive to create positive experiences for their people. These experiences lead to positive beliefs. The beliefs lead to impactful actions, which ultimately produce the necessary results.
Where your organizational culture stands today always has room for improvement and growth. To achieve the Key Results you’re targeting, you need to change your culture.
Culture change isn’t about just one workshop, engagement survey, or consulting session. It’s more than that: it’s a journey. It takes time, effort, and dedication to make these shifts, and this doesn’t happen overnight – but the impact will last a long, long time.
What outcomes do you need to achieve for your organization? More growth, higher retention, stronger engagement, digital transformation? Whatever results you are targeting, you can achieve them with the right tools, methods, and intentions. You must also measure your progress and align and empower your people to take personal ownership of those results. When these tools, methods, and intentions come together, they make up the Culture Journey.
New results require new experiences and beliefs. The culture you had is in the past – that was yesterday. The culture you need is ahead of you, tomorrow.
Today, you have control over your decision to embark on your Culture Journey.
