Creating a High Performance Culture

Lessons from Sasol’s Journey ASTD Mar 2015

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How is culture reflected in what just happened?

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The importance of corporate culture

Strategy for breakfast Collaboration for lunch Execution for dinner

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

-  Peter Drucker

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Culture, climate, employer brand, HPC

Culture Shared values,

assumptions and beliefs that drive employee

behaviour

Climate Shared perceptions and feelings employees have

about the fundamental and motivational aspects of the

organisation

Employer Brand The reputation the

organisation wishes to maintain with current and prospective employees

High Performance Culture The cultural characteristics required by the organisation to facilitates superior

performance given its unique set of circumstances and challenges.

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Who of you have formal culture programmes?

•  Values programmes? •  Employee engagement

programmes?

•  D&I programmes? •  Leadership development?

It’s all culture! So how do we put handles to this?

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Fitness and culture-fit

Internal

Strategy

Core compe-tence

Technology History

Employee demos

External

Pol

itica

l

Soc

ial

Eco

nom

ical

Soc

ial

Lega

l

Env

ironm

ent

Current Desired

Reinforce & sustain Nurture & grow Eliminate

Q

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The three “Ms” that comprise the magic of building a High Performance Culture

Description Some examples

This is a process of visioning. Collectively define and articulate a culture “destination” with clear definitions of where we want to go and how we’ll know that we got there. A solid iMagine process also goes a long way in clarifying what is required at “mobilise” and “measure”.

•  Visioning •  Leadership alignment •  Values

Communicate, enable and embed the required mindsets, behaviours, processes and practises across the organisation. Focus on building new ways of talking and doing, i.e. new organisational habits.

•  Toolkits •  Interventions •  Integrate into current processes

and initiatives •  Campaigns •  Language markers •  Organisational habits

Track, measure and illustrate how culture adds value. Measurement helps build organisational confidence, leadership buy-in and also facilitates focus and allows meaningful course correction. If done properly, measurement involves employees across the organisation in contributing towards this.

•  Track actions & measure impact

•  High Performance Culture Indexes (turnover, absenteeism, productivity, wellness statistics, ethics violations, safety, EE)

•  Element of “voice”

iMagine

Mobilise

Measure

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Group discussions Questions and instructions

What are key enablers to building a high performance

culture?

What are some of the obstacles companies face

when adopting a high performance culture?

What do you see as the role leaders need to play in this?

What impact do can employees have on an organisation’s culture?

Contribution they can make?

3 4

1 2

Select a timekeeper, scribe

and spokesperson.

Have the conversation around the assigned question.

Capture as you go.

Select the 3 most pertinent points.

You have minutes!

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Lessons learnt from Sasol

Be clear, decisive and selective! There’s a trap in think culture is infinitely malleable. It’s also easy to get lost in the notion that culture is everything.

Partner! Culture is something you do with, not to employees. The contributions of leaders at all levels as well employees are vital.

Dream together. Visioning and alignment on the culture vision is the foundation. It requires a strong leading coalition and ideally involves organisational members.

Bring freshness. Find creative and systemic ways to mobilise, enable and embed.

Link to business results. Ensure that it links to the company strategy and delivers results. Leverage business processes as key vehicles. Find ways to measure!

Remove fear. Culture change requires a process of learning. In all humans, fear and learning does not go well together.

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Closing reflections

If you do not develop your corporate culture, it will develop itself. Corporate culture doesn't

happen by accident--and if it does, it’s probably not what you

want.

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better together ... we deliver 12

Q&A