From cult-like conformity to innovation and adaptability, organizational culture spans a broad spectrum. Have you ever observed intelligent leaders making questionable decisions driven by their company’s culture? Or come across wildly unsubstantiated claims in the media and on social platforms?
Some business leaders champion ‘learning agility,’ fostering cultures that continuously seek and adapt to new information and points of view. Others cling to rigid and fundamentalist beliefs, limiting development and change.
Employees can recognize the signs of groupthink, such as illusions of unanimity, self-censorship, stereotyping outsiders, and pressure to conform. Cult-like cultures thrive on homogeneity, but this approach falters when an organization can’t adapt swiftly enough to its external environment and new information eventually comes crashing in.
Embracing uncertainty can be unsettling, driving people to seek leaders and cultures that offer belonging and certainty. Certainty feels good but blinds us to multiple perspectives and data that take curiosity to obtain.
However, without designing adaptive organizations that proactively embrace a wide range of data, viewpoints, and expertise, subjective decision-making prevails in crucial areas like strategy, leadership, hiring, promotion, organizational design, and culture, hampering a business’s future growth trajectory over time.
Long-term business success hinges on designing flexible organizations that promote a broad range of perspectives and expertise, with clearly defined goals, roles, and decision-making processes to organize people and teams effectively. This requires making implicit assumptions explicit and designing adaptive cultures that enable scaling and growth.
From Cults to Culture: Why Smart People Think and Do Dumb Things
