There is no such thing as a corporate culture. Companies are made up of many cultures, the strengths and weaknesses of which are a result of local conditions.
Marcus Buckingham Thinks Your Boss Has an Attitude Problem is a story about the research of marcus Buckingham into corporate culture or the lack of it. For various reasons I have been reading about management, and this is one of those rare stories that made me think. I suspect the same is true of universities – they don’t have one culture, but many (called departments) and we don’t know what makes one healthy and another problematic.
If you are wondering about your job or about how people who work with you are experiencing their job, think about this list:
- Do I know what is expected of me at work?
- Do I have the materials and equipment that I need in order to do my work right?
- At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
- In the past seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
- Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
- Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
- At work, do my opinions seem to count?
- Does the mission or purpose of my company make me feel that my job is important?
- Are my coworkers committed to doing quality work?
- Do I have a best friend at work?
- In the past six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
- This past year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?