Culture Change

The collectively held norms and assumptions that make up organizational culture drive much of our behavior at work. What needs to shift in your culture to create a high functioning environment that supports your strategic goals?

While a high functioning organizational culture is a well-established enabler of business success, many organizations avoid confronting elements of their culture that are barriers to realizing their strategy. We partner with organizations to diagnose their current culture, envision their desired culture and design high-impact interventions that drive culture change.

Culture is key driver of value for the most successful organizations, underpinning everything from brand to EVP, engagement to innovation. A vibrant culture accounts for as much as a 20-30% performance differential against ‘culturally unremarkable’ comparables. It is not something which leaders should leave to chance.

We partner with you at any and all stages of your journey to:

Create a shared understanding

Some of our clients have a clear roadmap in mind, and others want more guidance on what would have the greatest impact in terms of driving their strategy. We work to understand your system – not the other way around. Our partnership is based on your existing timelines, priorities, and long-term ambitions.

Articulate the direction of your culture

We help your top team align on organizational purpose, values and identity. How can your core cultural narrative grow to become energising, pragmatic, resonant and distinctive? Top team alignment is a necessary but not sufficient condition of culture change – a pre-requisite for any successful transformation.

Assess the dimensions of your culture

To change culture, you need to be specific. We measure the health of your culture, and dive into what makes you unique. Real change is often more about finding the core strengths and qualities of your culture – those which have been taken for granted or overlooked – and putting them back into the heart of all you do.

Target the drivers of your culture

Culture is like a stream. You don’t change it by grabbing handfuls of water. You build turning points – specific initiatives which redirect the flow and have a persistent impact. YSC’s role is to help you create initiatives which act as turning points. We target three underlying factors: the leadership, social and structural drivers of change.

Evaluate and extend the impact

Culture is always evolving. Because your process is more important than ours, we work with the natural shifts in your culture and priorities. Ongoing assessment of your culture is critical to ensuring we have the highest-value impact possible – which we extend further, working where you think YSC is most needed.

CHANGE IS ABOUT LEADERSHIP

At YSC, working with the most senior global leaders is what we do, and we’ve done it for 30 years. No culture change transformation can succeed independently of senior leaders. Aligning with organizational strategy, setting the new direction, and role modelling ‘what good looks like’ all have to be done at the top of house. Throughout the whole organization, leaders at all levels bridge the gap between cultural ambitions and what eventually ends up happening on the ground. YSC works with leaders and leadership on a daily basis, and it’s this understanding which underpins our culture change practice.

CULTURE IS PERSONAL

Culture is about values, the reason we come into work every day, and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Organizational culture is not just another facet of corporate life – it matters to individuals at an emotional level. We work with inclusiveness at the heart of all we do, and as psychologists we understand that change happens only when you work with reactions, not against them. Culture change comes alive when individuals are supported to forge a personal connection to the new way.

Individual
Styles

It sounds obvious, but individuals carry culture. Individual leaders act as role models, create narratives, and reinforce patterns of behavior. We empower leaders to become culture carriers – defined as being aware of their role, bought-into it, and capable of influencing others.

Team
Dynamics

Culture change must be signalled from the top, and this starts with the executive team. We partner with top teams in terms of content and process – working with you to become a more effective unit as we together scope, shape and deliver culture change programs. The top team needs to lead in a way which both signals and reinforces the cultural shifts it needs to realize.

Organizational Culture

Effective culture change has both a central and a local component. Take a vast multinational. All employees around the world should know what it means to work there, and be inspired by it, but that doesn’t mean that the culture in the New York office should be the same as in Singapore, or that finance and HR need to operate in exactly the same way. We help you unravel what needs to be worked on centrally, and what should be devolved.

Case Studies

Leadership development & culture change with a Fortune 100 retailer

The executive team wanted to understand the broader capabilities across the organization, with a view to support leadership performance, development and succession planning.

Developing a coaching culture within a FTSE 100 beverages company

We partnered with the client to create a sustainable culture change and coaching programs that could be applied across all levels of their organization and validated participants with external accreditation.

Creating a culture of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with a leading investment bank

This client partnered with YSC to empower leaders and employees to engage in the creation of an inclusive culture.

Accelerating leadership development in APAC for a global real estate company

Accelerating leadership development in APAC for a global real estate company.

Scaling impact: How C-suite leaders can affect change beyond their organization

Actions to pave the way toward sustainable business success.

Surviving dramatic organizational change: Leadership wisdom from a Broadway star

Actor Anika Larsen shared some sage advice with our CEO around how to navigate feelings of loss at work.

How to shape inclusive cultures through leadership signals

Pay attention to what you are signaling to ensure your impact matches your intention.

Podcast: Creating inclusive cultures

Our Global Head of DEI, Aarti Shyamsunder, shares with ESG Decoded listeners why curiosity, courage and connection are key to DEI efforts.

The efficiency illusion: How comfort can be constraining

Whilst working from home can be productive, there are benefits to be gained from going to the office.

Quiet quitting – Self-empowerment or self-destruction?

Hot on the heels of everyone talking about the Great Resignation, the focus is now on Quiet Quitting.

Hybrid teams: Four fundamentals to get your leadership team working well when together and apart

In a time where we see significant churn of talent and burnout, investing time into your team takes little effort but has significant value.

The purpose gap: Going beyond the personal

To effect change on a grand scale, leaders must connect organizational and personal purpose.

Solving the last piece of the virtual working puzzle

We share lessons learnt from our own experiences of onboarding new joiners and overcoming the challenges posed by virtual and hybrid working.

Welcome to the new ethical context

In his latest article for Fortune, YSC’s CEO shares advice for leaders looking to navigate the shifting ethical landscape with integrity.

Easing group decision making: A view, a voice, a vote or a veto

Clarify different stakeholders’ roles in decision-making ahead of asking for their input to avoid disenfranchisement.

How leaders can signal inclusivity through their actions

Here are three steps leaders can take to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace for all.