How often do you discuss culture in your system?
Work, school, home, community, church, team… we discuss culture in all these different scenarios. Culture can be as simply defined as what is normal in a group or scenario, to a list of spectrums for what we deem as acceptable behaviour. This is why we discuss culture on so many levels, or at least we should discuss them. Just getting in your car and driving from one town to the next gives you a picture of how culture changes with each defined space.
It is one of my favourite questions to ask when I step into a new space or group: Can you define your culture? Often, outside eyes can more easily identify what it is.
I recently listened to the Freakonomics Radio podcast where they interviewed the world renowned voice on national culture, Gert Jan Hofstede. Below is the link to his page regarding the ‘6D Model’ of national culture, originally developed by his father, Geert. As I listened and reviewed the material, it made me wonder how much of this can be easily identified in all our varying groups and institutions.
Take a look at the page, and let me know what you think!
Lead Freely 