Cultural Architect
Leadership Core Training
Cultural Architecture
Creating a thriving culture for the projects, ventures, and organizations you are leading is critical for its growth and success. Culture is defined as the set of values, traditions, and customs practiced by a group of people. It is also the unique way they express those values and interact with those within and outside of the group. Your ideas and practices will be better defined and understood by those you lead through the culture you create. In this course, you are going to learn the different components of a culture and how they work together. You will also be introduced to several tools and processes for building and maintaining the culture you are creating. Lastly, we will talk about culture as a type of brand that those who work and interact with you in any capacity will be influenced by.
Lesson Plan
session 01
DEFINING CULTURE AND ITS IMPORTANCE
Culture is such an important aspect of building a successful and thriving business, community, or organization. It is the atmosphere and environment you work and live in. It is a product of the values and beliefs of those who have created and live in it. As a leader, it is extremely important for you to build and maintain a healthy culture. Those who do this will succeed in doing more than creating a great product or service but they would ultimately be responsible for enriching the lives of anyone that encounters it. At a culture's very core are the beliefs and values that those who started the group hold dear to them. If those ideals are noble and focused on bettering the lives of others, then the culture will be an expression and a result of those ideals. It will also be a constant reminder of what they stand for and where they are going in the world. In this class, we will cover the importance of culture and how it evolves.
Duration: 1 hour
Materials needed: Becoming a Leader Slidebook, note-taking resources.
session 02
DISCOVERING AND DEVELOPING YOUR VALUE SYSTEM
Each leader has to discover and define what is important to them. This will allow them to focus on the things that will allow them to live out their purpose. It will keep them from taking on projects and doing work that they don't believe in. Discovering and then defining their core values will also help them discern who can help them do what they are trying to accomplish. The leader's values will become a huge influence on the values of the group and the work they are doing. In this class, we will cover what values are and how they can be used powerfully to create culture and encourage specific behavior that is needed to succeed.
Duration: 1 hour
Materials needed: Becoming a Leader Slidebook, note-taking resources.
session 03
THE FRAMEWORK OF CULTURE
Building the framework from a thriving culture requires a knowledge of the people that are a part of the community being built and an understanding of the environment the community is connected to. The more leaders know who they are leading the better they will understand each person's individual value system. This will help them understand how each person sees the value system the leader is instituting. It will also help them gain insights regarding how to introduce certain core practices and commitments. In this class, we will cover the framework of culture and how it is formed as well as adapted by those in the community or group.
Duration: 1 hour
Materials needed: Becoming a Leader Slidebook, note-taking resources.
session 04
CORE BELIEFS AND COMMITMENTS
The first part of the framework of any culture are the beliefs that the community hold as true. These may clash with the leaders core beliefs. In order for the leader to create a dynamic new culture, they must get the community to adopt these beliefs and the values on which they are based. This will lead to what I call core commitments. These are internal promises people make when they believe something. They commit to specific viewpoints and attitudes connected to the belief they have adopted. They also embrace a way of thinking that allows them to better understand the belief and explain its importance and usefulness. In this class, we will cover the power of beliefs and the commitments that come from them. We will also cover how to identify individual beliefs and commitments and how to create them corporately.
Duration: 1 hour
Materials needed: Becoming a Leader Slidebook, note-taking resources.
session 05
CORE PRACTICES AND SKILLS
The second part of the framework of any culture are the core practices and skills that allow a community to accomplish its goals. These practices are essential for the community to function and even stay alive. As the community gets better at performing them, they will be more successful at reaching their goals. They will be able to grow and add additional functions to allow them to do more. They will acquire the skills necessary to do the type and quality of work that will allow them to realize their vision. The core practices and skills become the work the group is known for both internally and externally. In this class, we will cover how to identify the core practices and skills the community will be known for and that are essential for them to move forward.
Duration: 1 hour
Materials needed: Becoming a Leader Slidebook, note-taking resources.
session 06
GETTING PEOPLE TO BUY INTO YOUR CULTURE
The leader is responsible for not only building a framework for people to interact with the ideas and values they have but getting people interested in those ideas and values. Showing them why they should matter to them and how to invest themselves into being a part of the community and culture is a huge way leaders can get support of the vision they are sharing. People need to understand what the cost of being a part of the culture is as well as how to be a part of it. This allows them to survey their own personal values, beliefs, and vision to see if there is a fit that will allow them move along with the community. This buy-in to the way things are done and the reason they are done begins to be the lens through which the work is seen. People begin to invest more of themselves into the work because it makes sense and they can see the benefit to both themselves and as a means to fulfill their values and beliefs. In this class, we will cover the process through which people buy into a new culture. We will also look at the different types of buy-ins people have.
Duration: 1 hour
Materials needed: Becoming a Leader Slidebook, note-taking resources.
session 07
BRANDING
The culture and its expressions will become what the community or group is known for. Whenever you think of any community of people you think of their culture. You identify that community with the way they do life. You identify that community with their beliefs and their practices. It affects their language, dress, relationships, etc. They are proud to be associated with that community. They share with the world who they are through the expressions of their culture. A leader has an opportunity to use this aspect of culture to create a greater sense of harmony and strength in their purpose. Branding is about being able to identify a group, product, or services from the others. It is an important mark that is made on it so that it is seen as different. This will help people relate to it or them and have the right expectation. In this class, we are going to cover some of the basics on branding and its effect on the culture internally and externally.
Duration: 1 hour
Materials needed: Becoming a Leader Slidebook, note-taking resources.
session 08
EXPRESSIONS OF CULTURE
The expressions of a culture are its visible aspects. It is the things that emerge as result of a communities beliefs about the world, their relationship to the world and each other, and the resources that are available to them to accomplish their goals. It is the way the culture represents itself in the world. It is everything from its icons and symbols to its music and the work it does to accomplish its goals. It is also its attitude and disposition toward those directly around it, their industry or community, and the world. In this class, we will cover the power of these expressions as an expression of culture and a reinforcement of the values, beliefs, and commitments of the group.