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"How can I make a flower grow faster? Culture is a product of the behaviors of people in the system." - Karim Harbott
For Karim, one of the biggest challenges—and enablers—in his current work is creating a supporting culture. After years of learning what doesn't work, he's come to understand that culture isn't something you can force or mandate. Like trying to make a flower grow faster by pulling on it, direct approaches to culture change often backfire.
Instead, Karim uses what he calls the "oblique approach"—changing culture indirectly by adjusting the five levers: leadership behaviors, organizational structure, incentives, metrics, and systems. Leadership behaviors are particularly crucial.
When leaders step back and encourage ownership rather than micromanaging, teams transform. Incentives have a huge impact on how teams work—align them poorly, and you'll get exactly the wrong behaviors.
Karim references Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal, which demonstrates how changing organizational structure and leadership philosophy can unlock extraordinary performance. He also uses the Competing Values Framework to help leaders understand different cultural orientations and their tradeoffs. But the most important lesson? There are always unexpected consequences. Culture change requires patience, experimentation, and a willingness to observe how the system responds. You can't force a flower to grow, but you can create the conditions where it thrives.
Self-reflection Question: Are you trying to change your organization's culture directly, or are you adjusting the conditions that shape behavior?
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About Karim Harbott
Karim is a consultant, trainer, and non-executive director. He bridges the gap between strategy, business agility, digital transformation, innovation, AI, and board governance. He is a Certified Scrum Trainer, and is the author of The 6 Enablers of Business Agility.
You can link with Karim Harbott on LinkedIn.