I’ve stolen this term from Professor Damien Hughes on the High Performance Podcast. The leaders, the change makers and the shakers he interviews all get asked the same thing: what do they do as cultural architects?
So what do we mean by cultural architects?
These are the people who become the change they want to see in the people and team around them. If they value integrity, ambition and honesty, they make sure they live these values and behaviours every day in order to inspire others to do the same.
Damian is a Professor of Organisational Psychology and Change, and a consultant on culture across business, education and sport – so he knows a thing or two about cultural shift. He defines cultural architects as people who lead us without authority, the people who, when they speak, people listen. They don’t necessarily have the title of a leader, bu they role model the trademark behaviours and challenge others who don’t demonstrate these, and they have the respect of the team to do this.
These people are often naturally gregarious and well respected within the team, but if you don’t automatically see yourself as that outgoing, charismatic person – can you still become a cultural architect, it is a coachable skill.
Imagine a sports team, they have an elected captain, sure. But there will also almost always be 3 or 4 players who the rest of the team also look up to and try to embody, they’ll be the people who role model the team’s non-negotiable behaviours and values, and they’ll speak up when they see others who aren’t doing so. These 4 people are the cultural architects of the team, although they might not realise it, and the rest of the team might not realise they’re being lead by them either.
So what does this mean for vets?
With the great veterinary retention crisis ongoing, vets are often leaving because of poor practice culture. Having a defined successful workplace culture is going to be crucial to unite and retain great veterinary talent in practice.
We know we need to improve culture in our veterinary practices, and although a lot of this change can be initiated by leaders, as you saw above, there are those in your team who don’t necessarily have to have any leadership role to be able to affect change they want to see.
Could this be you?
Have a think about what your practice values are, and if you’re not sure if you have any, then what would you aspire them to be? Being a cultural architect is about being intentional with culture, not just letting the culture evolve into something by itself.
Does your practice culture currently align with those values, and if not, what needs to change to fill the gap? Articulating clearly to your team what your shared vision is for the practice and what your culture values are helps employees understand what behaviours are expected of them and will be rewarded.
Be empowered to hold your colleagues and leaders accountable, if you see something going on that goes against your practice culture and values, a cultural architect would speak up about it. This empowers others to do the same.
Think about how intentional you are with your actions and if they reflect the desired company values. If your management are implementing new systems and processes, does your culture thread through these?
Conclusion
The most important thing about cultural architects is that they role model the change or culture they want to see where they work. Companies who identify and engage people to become cultural architects are ahead of the curve, but even if your leadership isn’t as proactive, you can still be that role model yourself and encourage others to follow.
