CREATE THE RIGHT CULTURE


If culture change eats strategy for breakfast, it eats structural reorganisation for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

“The culture of a group can now be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved is problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.” (1)

Schein, E.H.   (2004)   Organizational Culture and Leadership.  John Wiley & Sons Inc. (p.17).


Organisations consist of a structure, systems and a culture.  Of these, the structure of an organisation is the easiest to change and for this reason, structural change is common.  Healthcare is so complex, however, that there is no correct structure so attempting to modify this component is the least effective way to bring about transformation.

Systems and culture are more difficult to change but can be developed and modified. For many people who manage healthcare, culture is the most difficult part of the organisation to influence. Culture change is brought about by influencing the thinking in an organisation and empowering people to find their own solutions.


BVHC Resources

The Culture Change Programme - for leaders and developing leaders 

The Culture Change Programme is an online development programme that introduces you to the importance of culture as well as equipping you with the knowledge and skills necessary to shape the culture of your organisation. By the end of this programme you will be able to:

  • explain what is meant by an organisation’s culture
  • convince people of not only the importance of culture and how it can be influenced by good leadership
  • describe how culture is related to systems and bureaucracy
  • distinguish between a culture and sub cultures
  • discuss the similarities and differences facing leaders of new, merged and stale organisations who wish to improve culture
  • describe how an organisation’s culture can be assessed
  • take steps to influence and improve the culture of your organisation
This programme is primarily designed for individuals who are or who will become leaders, because in the words of the authors who have studied the Toyota Motor Corporation in most detail:

"Within any company, it is what people think and believe and what drives daily priorities.   Leadership and a company’s culture are inextricably intertwined.” (2)


The Co-Creating Culture Programme - creating the culture for the new paradigm

Establishing a shared culture in a newly formed department, network or organisation can be slow, difficult and costly when you don’t have a shared language or a shared understanding of concepts. This programme will help you create the culture needed for change by providing convenient podcast reviews and discussions of key books, academic reports and commonly used words. It will support you in creating an organizational culture that has:


  • A common language
  • A common knowledge base
  • A shared understanding of key concepts

It is also essential to adapt and sometimes transform culture to meet the challenges of a new environment, even for very successful health services. The Co-Creating Culture Programme exposes your organisation to established and contemporary ideas on topics that are current healthcare challenges for you. Information is delivered in bitesize podcasts across your whole organisation simultaneously. You can listen to the podcasts online or download them and listen to them when it is more convenient. Each podcast has a short accompanying text with links to relevant resources so you can find out more about the topic. You can deepen your learning by completing the associated learning record and use this as evidence of your continuing professional development. You and other stakeholders can record your own podcasts to share your ideas on how the material relates to your organisation.

The Co-creating Culture Programme is a unique blend of face-to-face and self-paced content that can be tailored to match your unique needs to make sure you get the maximum impact from the learning. See one of our free demos and find out how the programme can work for you.


The How to Create the Right Healthcare Culture Handbook

This is one of our series of How To Handbooks which will be available on paper and Kindle and can be read on its own or to complement or supplement the development programmes.


Master the Language of Healthcare

Language creates the social reality of the world in which we work.  Being clear about the meaning of terms is one of the key steps in shaping culture. Even if a word has more than one meaning, it is essential that everyone in a health service is aware of this and agrees which meaning should be used.  For this reason BVHC has developed the Glossary of 21st Century Healthcare and a range of other resources to help clarify, and make more consistent, the language of healthcare.



References