Changing your credit union’s culture

I like how Michael Hyatt describes corporate culture and the challenge of changing it: “The problem is that culture is largely invisible to those inside of it. It’s like water to a fish or air to a bird. It’s simply the environment we live in.”

When we notice this environment needs to be changed in our own organizations, how do we, as leaders, go about it? Hyatt gives six steps, but he acknowledges that based on his own experience, such change is not immediate and may not be apparent for more than a year. His steps for leaders trying to effect change include:

1. Become aware of the culture. Hyatt encourages us to pay attention to the ways our employees express themselves and talk about their successes and failures.
2. Assess your current culture. Create three lists: What should stay? What should go? And what is missing?