From cultural change to cultural evolution
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Instead of focusing on public service-wide cultural change, leaders should make behavioural change and cultural evolution their main goals, Dr Fiona Buick from the School of Business at the University of New South Wales, Canberra writes.
Over time, cultural change has emerged as a centre piece in tackling challenges facing the APS.
This ongoing focus suggests that cultural change has not been sufficiently realised yet. This is not surprising, as culture is “so stable and difficult to change” because it is deeply embedded, underpinned by a stable system of values, beliefs and assumptions, learnt over time as ways to meet environmental demands.
Some of the challenges in achieving cultural change come down to how it is portrayed in the public service. To make it work, leaders will need to shift to a cultural evolution approach, concentrating on establishing principles and supporting behavioural change first.
Principles instead of culture
Currently, there is a strong focus on establishing a unified APS-wide culture. Culture forms when a group frequently encounters similar problems that emerge from environmental demands.
Consequently, the APS’ focus on developing a unified culture is challenging, and can potentially be distracting, when alternative approaches might enable change more effectively.
To address this, public service leadership should continue to focus on high-level principles for conduct across the APS, similar to the approach adopted for flexible working in the APS, rather than a unified APS culture. This could support the realisation of aspirations without relying on cultural change as a precursor to change.
Compatibility over complexity
The desire for cultural change across the APS centres on leaders’ role modelling and encouraging desired behaviours. There are three challenges with this.
First, there is an assumption that desired cultures apply universally across the APS. However, its diversity means that what is required in one department or agency – and subunits – may not be appropriate for mission and goal attainment in another.
Second, cultural change is unlikely when existing cultures are dramatically different from the desired state. Cultural change is only realised if there is some compatibility between the desired culture and the group’s cultural DNA. That is, beliefs, values and behaviours that have historically enabled success.
Lastly, the role of leaders in cultural change is all-encompassing. It matters what they pay attention to, how they measure and control their emotions (particularly during crises), how they allocate resources, and who they appoint and reward.
Additionally, organisational culture and leadership are intertwined, with leaders shaping and transmitting culture as well as being part of it. This can present difficulties for realising cultural change, as leaders are tasked with changing the very culture they have benefited from.
Instead, there should be a focus on evolving existing cultures at the department, agency and subunit levels where there is compatibility between existing and desired cultures.
Specific instead of general
Concentrating on APS-wide cultural change means that claims for how to achieve it are general and high-level. It also means that desired behaviours are not clearly identified.
However, identifying and encouraging specific behaviours is a key requirement for realising cultural evolution. This can be achieved through the following steps:
- Articulating the desired future state and why it is important and non-negotiable, focusing on environmental demands for change. This can help why change is beneficial, reducing change resistance.
- Identifying the specific behaviours required to realise the desired state. This makes change more concrete and achievable.
- Establishing a plan for addressing barriers, removing the systems, processes and practices that support previous, undesired behaviours. This assists in unlearning, which is pivotal to the change process.
- Contrasting desired behaviours with the current state to identify gaps, enabling identification of what needs to change. This helps pave the way forward, informing targeted interventions aimed at addressing gaps and barriers to change.
- Establishing new systems, processes and practices that support desired behaviours, including:
- Reconfiguring HR practices, including induction, performance management, rewards and recognition, and learning and development processes.
- Leaders making it safe for employees to change, with their behaviours consistently encouraging employees to demonstrate desired behaviours.
- Holding leaders accountable for realising change. This enables the consistent encouragement of and reinforcement of desired behaviours, making it safe for employees to change. These steps complement progress with the APS reform so far, which holds promise for supporting the evolution of a pro-integrity culture.
These activities highlight that cultural evolution is a significant and multi-faceted process. When desired behaviours are consistently reinforced and enable improvements and success over time, employees will start to embrace social norms and values. When they see the benefits of these norms and values, they become collectively internalised, with shared expectations about appropriate attitudes and behaviours. As a result, they become embedded in organisational culture.
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