Lake Worth, FL

Monday, January 07, 2008

The main purpose of understanding your organizational identity is to build a healthy, vibrant culture which is the key to achieving long-term organizational success. Who you are and what you stand for is as important as what you sell or who you provide services to. The values of an organization affect you ability to hire the best people and sell quality products or services.

A successful organization supports its public or brand identity with what it actually does. This is much easier to accomplish if the organization determines that public identity by first recognizing its character, values, and strengths. The energy to maintain an identity is based on fact rather than fiction. The use of a prototype within an organization can be beneficial in many ways. An organization that lacks a coherent sense of meaning can identify with the storyline that is active in the culture and create a myth around it, reinforcing a core idea and provide meaning. A core story will lend clarity and cohesion to an organization. Balancing this core story with openness to other stories provide flexibility to respond to new and unexpected circumstances. An organization should be open to hearing and learning from diverse voices.

The gap between values and behaviors can be lessoned by developing the strengths associated with the values or learning to value what it actually does. An at-risk organization has little or no value/strength alignment and its energy is dissipated into coping with or remediation of the problems. A healthy organization has a good value/strengths alignment, and its energies are primarily focused on living out its values and strengths rather than grappling with weaknesses.

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About Global Strategic Management Solutions

We specialize in assisting companies grow and improve their performance. We work as an advisor, coach, and mentor on strategic issues to the CEO and senior management team of companies. Sign up for our free newsletter on business trends at www.globalstrategicmgmt.com/publications. The above is excerpted from Peterson and Hammer, A Guide to Organizational and Team Culture Indicator. GSMS is certified in Organizational and Team Culture Indicator (OTCI) with Applications for Psychological Type, Inc.

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Doreen M. McGunagle, Ph.D.

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