The GlowinkowskiTM Integrated Framework positions the idea of Organisational Climate as an outcome of three ‘change levers’, which we consider represent the culture of any organisation. From Climate is derived the quality of performance. Two competing, similarly sized organisations in the same sector will see the one with the stronger Climate out-perform the other. The organisation that improves its Climate will extend its lead if already ahead, or will catch-up and overtake the other if initially the weaker performer, assuming the other allows complacency to ‘take the foot off the gas’.
The three change levers of Structure, Behaviour and Processes are positioned as the inputs that drive and influence the outcomes of Climate and performance. Combined, these three factors represent what happens in an organisation and the nature of ‘how things get done’. In this sense they represent the culture. Spelling this out quite simply, therefore:
Climate is people oriented. ‘Culture change’ programmes fail because the people dimension is either overlooked or not considered sufficiently deeply.
Climate should not be construed as concerning a ‘happy-clappy’, pink, soft, benign environment, where performance is not regarded as paramount. Climate is entirely performance focused! In any organisation, it is people that make the difference. Therefore, working in a high-performance Climate will result in the delivery of discretionary effort because individuals are self-motivated to do so. Working in a Climate where such self-motivation does not prevail results in reduced contribution, impeded competitiveness and lower overall performance by the organisation. The former is a virtuous circle generating ongoing increases in performance, the latter is a vicious circle causing performance to fall away and deteriorate.
