Learn to navigate the hidden culture in your organization
Organizations have their own set of unwritten rules, beliefs, values, and behaviors that shape their culture. These hidden cultures and norms can have a significant impact on how you perform.
When we speak of culture, it’s not just the free lunches, the gym and the perks that matter. While some people do value these perks, it is much more important to learn the hidden culture so that you have a good shot at outperforming.
I firmly believe that these sub cultures play a big part in your individual success. You may have the right skill set and experiences to bring, but if the culture clashes with your own value systems or working style then you will find it really hard to perform. This is especially true if you are joining a new company and have some aggressive targets to meet.
Here are some examples of hidden cultures and norms in an organization:
Informal communication channels: Many organizations have formal communication channels like emails and memos, but there are often informal communication channels like hallway conversations, coffee breaks, and after-work drinks. These informal channels can shape the organization’s culture by creating a sense of camaraderie, sharing information, and building trust among colleagues. If you get left out of these conversations, then you are at a loss. Further, the people in the company don’t consider these as informal channels, rather they think of these as official. So be aware of these channels and participate in a way that fits your needs. The last thing you want is to be left out of key decisions or projects just because you don’t drink coffee or go to Friday happy hours. I am not suggesting you start going to happy hours with the team, but acknowledge these channels. Maybe start your own channel of communication that works to your advantage.
Tribes : Comfort in tribes in baked into our DNA. You can easily see this even in the wild when animals protect their tribe. When you join a company, it is really hard to break into these tribes. When I say tribe, I mean a set of people who share something with each other. For example, a couple of executives and middle managers have been with the company the longest and have a plethora of internal knowledge. They tend to form a strong bond. They have established a rhythm of communication and when an outsider joins, it breaks their rhythm. There is hesitation to loop you in. Another example is a few people who successfully executed a project and now share a bond. They feel invincible and feel that only this group made it successful. Or many a few of them went to the same school or have prestigious degree.
Favoritism : It is human nature to favor one person over another. Ask a parent who their favorite child is or a teacher who their favorite student is. In organizations, one is not expected to create any kind of favoritism that harms someone. But it happens. Why that happens is a bit complicated. Perhaps the executive and their favorites went to the same school, or they worked together once or maybe they just get along better.
Communication and response expectations : Some organizations may have an unwritten expectation that employees work long hours or overtime to meet deadlines. This can lead to burnout and create a culture of overwork. How often are you expected to communicate to your superiors about progress? When you get an email from someone high, how soon are you expected to respond. Is next day OK? Aligning your own behavior with these expectations will help you blend in faster.
Decision-making processes: Organizations may have a hidden culture around decision-making, where certain individuals or teams hold more power and influence than others. For example, in some organizations engineering will hold power and will have a final say in decisions related to priority or process. In other orgs, it might be sales who have the power and might force product teams to accept roadmap changes to accommodate specific customers. Every organization will have a power center. It is critical to find out which individuals or department hold the decision making powers.
Handling failures : Every company handles failures differently. You will hear about Google where employees are expected to keep trying new things even if they fail to keep the innovation going. But majority of organizations are resource constrained. They don’t have runway to experiment. So they will want someone who will likely be successful. If you are interviewing, it would be good to ask how the org handled a recent failure. Are those people still around?
Openness: How open are company employees open to suggestions or feedback. Especially peers, bosses and executives. If you have to brainstorm or ask a question, do they respond and work with you? If they are busy, do they make time for you later? If have suggestions for improvements, how well are they received. These are important considerations that will impact your own performance. Many companies say they have an open culture but most pay lip service. The company is as open as the weakest manager in the link.
There are many other norms that are hidden and every organization has them. Not to mention general office politics and interpersonal rivalry.
If you are already in an organization and feel that you are not able to move the needle on your own performance, then check if some of these cultures are holding you back. Once you understand, you can adapt your own behavior to accommodate your needs. It is not necessary that you have to fit these cultures. Your value system may not allow it. Your DNA will run against them. But if you need to do your best shot at being successful, you do have to navigate around these rocks. Acknowledging that these norms exist is a good starting point.
How can you tell these cultures when you are interviewing for a role?
It’s not easy. You can always chat with previous employees or friends who still work there. Or you can ask questions in your interviews to elicit a response. You will likely get a sanitized response but you can try to be specific. For example, can you share an example of how project that was not successful handled by the company?
Every company has their own set of cultures and once established they rarely change or at least they don’t change that frequently.
