We hear this term more and more often and ultimately mean that a person is a good fit for a company or organization—or not. That's why this question comes up again and again, especially in recruiting. If only it were that easy to judge.
What is culture? The definitions that have been created for it could fill many pages. One very vivid description that has stuck in my mind comes from the German sociologist Max Weber, is around 100 years old, and reads as follows: Culture is like a kind of river that flows through our entire consciousness. However, the source of this river lies outside our consciousness. It's a beautiful image connected to nature. It also shows us the extreme complexity of the billions of water molecules—and everything else that floats along with them—as well as the diverse locations when we imagine the river winding its way over thousands of kilometers. We are part of this river—which means that we also influence it in the truest sense of the word. But we did not create this river and must therefore recognize that, on the one hand, our influence has limits and, on the other hand, we have been shaped without really noticing it.
Among other things, critical self-reflection is so important because it questions behavior, attitudes, values, and even culture. But couldn't the culture of a company also be described as the "landscape of values" of the people who act—and have acted—there? On the one hand, this makes it clear that cultural change takes time. The image of the so-called "trickle-down effect" is useful here. It must first trickle down from the top to the bottom. You could also express it more forcefully with the saying that the fish stinks from the head down. This makes it clear that a CEO can have a greater impact on corporate culture than a regular employee.
Nevertheless, I believe that there is rarely such a thing as "the culture" of a company. Ultimately, individual leader shape leader areas and beyond, often resulting in subcultures or a mixture of cultures. One particular bad culture, for example, is that of negativity. The saying "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" aptly explains the influence of negativity in companies. One of the most important tasks of leader is to act as "producers" of a positive atmosphere and not as consumers of the prevailing or prevailing culture. We can shape our course and must do so if we want to fulfill our leadership responsibilities. In Boris Grundl's Leading Simple system, one of the 15 modules is tailored to this: Positive working atmosphere.
So how do we develop leader so that they become positive cultural influencers? First, we need to answer the crucial question that Boris Grundl always asks when someone who wants to develop starts out: "Are you in this seminar/coaching session/workshop/training because you are looking for self-affirmation or because you are interested in personal growth?" If you are looking for the former, you might as well go home right away. If you want the latter, however, you have to be prepared to really question everything about yourself. You have to break yourself down into its individual parts, so to speak, in order to then be able to rebuild yourself.
Robert S. Hartman outlined the personal development process in four steps:
- Know thyself, i.e., recognize yourself. Examine yourself, your abilities, and your potential. Also ask and answer questions about what you do not have within you. Wishful thinking is not a good guide for development.
- Choose yourself, accept yourself. You are the "material" that lies within you; ultimately, it is all you have. You cannot be anyone else; you are simply you.
- Build thyself – and therein lies a crucial aspect that gives us, as intelligent beings, a literally constructive ability. We can actually "build" ourselves, i.e., develop ourselves, because we have what are known as teleological abilities. This means that, based on our analysis of the past and present, we develop ideas about how things should be in the future. Seen in this light, it is up to us to decide what purpose our actions serve and whether we achieve our goals.
- Give thyself, that is, give yourself and your knowledge, your skills, and your experience back to human society. This is often forgotten. Be generous. You have needed a lot of help from all kinds of people to develop in this successful way. It is time to give something back so that others can develop optimally.
In summary: For me, "culture fit" is a buzzword with little practical value. One must think and act more deeply in order to, in the words of Boris Grundl, "become the best one can be."
How do you assess the question of cultural fit?
