Purposeful Talent Development: 5 (of 9) dimensions of organizational climate

Culture is a word much bantered about in organizational and talent development settings. It refers to deep-seated organizational traits rooted in the work and priorities of the organization’s founders. In contrast, climate is what everybody experiences at work every day. It’s the interactions between people. It’s the feeling you get when you’re working at a credit union.

Culture could take a decade to really shift. Climate, in contrast, is easier to repair every couple of years. If you have good focus and understand what you need to focus on, you can really shift the climate in amazing ways.

To help you better understand your climate and how you might want to shift it, let’s talk about the first five of the nine dimensions of climate that are present in every workplace. I’ll give you some perspective on how to assess how you’re doing on each. In my August Purposeful Talent Development blog post, I’ll cover the remaining four.

1. Challenge and involvement

This is just what it sounds like. Get a read on how this dimension is at your credit union right now by asking yourself: Are we challenged? Are we involved? Do our team members feel like they are working toward our bigger purpose? When you have good challenge and involvement, people feel motivated, energized and committed to making contributions. If challenge and involvement are lacking, you might see reduced interest in professional development. If you think you’re lacking a bit here, make sure your team members understand the credit union’s vision and goals.

 

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