What influence does the founder influence have on the organizational culture? (2023)

What factors influence the organizational culture of the company? Here are six factors that are often cited as important influential cultures.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE FOUNDER

The influence of Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad is perhaps one of the best examples of how a business founder can shape corporate culture. Although a company may eventually become an international company, its culture is often created or shaped by its founders. Founders define the vision and core values ​​of the company they create, which in turn inform the definition of organizational structure, reward systems, approach to decision-making, and more.

COMPANY SIZE AND COMPLEXITY

As a company grows larger and more complex, it may be imperative to change its culture. A small business or a start-up company, for example, is likely to have a more informal approach to how it's done. In contrast, a larger, more complex organization is likely to have a more formal approach to how things are done, including communication methods, policies and procedures, etc.

PRICES

Corporate reward systems can often have significant cultural implications. For example, a company where employees are routinely paid through commissions and/or performance bonuses may require a different approach than a company where employees are only paid a salary. For example, the financial services industry is often cited as an example where reward systems have created a strong culture that encourages excessive risk-taking.

INDUSTRY / MARKET

This is related to the impact of compensation schemes as employee compensation often depends on the type of industry or market in which the company operates. While most industries and markets are highly competitive today, some others have expectations about the way things get done. For example, some industries, such as energy and pharmaceuticals, are highly regulated, which therefore affects the way decisions are made, how controls are applied, etc. In some markets, such as creative industries, the culture is of the need to encourage creativity. innovation, teamwork, etc.

ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

You may be wondering - which is more important - organizational structure or culture? In fact, both influence each other! For example, a culture built on strong central control requires different policies and controls than a culture in which power is distributed away from the center. Likewise, a company can quite informally evolve into a flat hierarchical structure, where the organizational structure simply adjusts to reflect what the people in the company believe is best.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT

There are many classic examples of work environments that are deliberately designed to support an existing and/or desired culture. Good examples are the famous Googleplex (Google's headquarters complex) and more recently Apple's new headquarters. At a simpler level, the physical environment in which people work together must certainly influence organizational culture, not least because of its impact on communication. Are the functional teams located in different parts of the building – or even in different buildings? Can employees work remotely? Is there a "hot desk" staff or does it have its own place in the work environment?

Before founding Blue Kite, in each of my roles, I looked for ways to increase employee morale and strengthen our team's bonds.

At one company, I suggested having lunch together in our conference room so that we didn't have to work alone at our desks during the lunch break.

At another organization, I recommended a summer schedule to allow our burned-out team to take every other Friday afternoon off.

However, each of these recommendations fell on deaf ears and was never implemented.

Why?

Because they reflected my idea of ​​what culture should be, not what is important to organizational leaders.

Not only did I lack the strength or authority to implement these ideas, I also lacked the necessary support from the company's founder or management.

Why founders inspire corporate culture

Every business founder inspires the culture of the organization they create—even if it's unintentional.

Because when a company is founded, the founder sets the rules. The founder makes decisions that reflect his values ​​and beliefs. Everything from the way you take calls to fulfilling orders for customers can reflect what's important to the founder.

And while he may not have started the company with culture in mind, the founder founded the company to fulfill a vision. This vision must be at the core of the corporate culture.

The problem is that corporate culture is often created more by specification than by design.

Company culture is often created by specification rather than design.

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While culture is important to founders, they often lose sight of it as they focus on solving problems and growing the business.

The history of the Bullhorn culture is a perfect example of this.

As the company grew, its culture deteriorated. They were more focused on developing new products than their core offering. As a result, product quality deteriorated, customer service deteriorated, and long-standing customers left the company.

When Bullhorn's first customer said he was abandoning ship, the CEO realized he had a problem.

So he focused on returning to the company's original mission of creating great customer experiences. Everyone from the sales team to the support team has changed their attitude towards customer service.

And the result?

Since transforming its culture, Bullhorn's growth rate has doubled and the company has hired 200 people in the last year.

Defining a founder-inspired culture

Bullhorn's history proves that culture grows from the vision of the founder. As the focus of the founder changes, so does the culture.

That's why we partner with the founder when we help companies create or revitalize their culture.

Basically, the corporate culture is a mirror of the founder. The culture inspired by the founder reflects her strengths, beliefs, values ​​and personality. It embodies their vision for the company and represents the reason the company exists.

Basically, a founder-inspired culture gives companies the chance to create a culture that reflects the vision of the company's founder - even after they're gone.

Apple is the best-known example of this. Although Steve Jobs has passed away, his legacy, vision and values ​​live on within the company.

The key, of course, is a strong vision.

Most of the time, founders know deep down what the culture of their company should be like. It's just a matter of identifying the qualities and traits that are important to them.

As a founder, it's all about getting back to the basic "why" and remembering why you started the business in the first place. Realizing your company's vision is key to creating a purposeful, founder-inspired culture.

The founders need to communicate the vision to the team

Identifying your culture's vision is a crucial first step in creating an entrepreneur-inspired culture.

But it's not enough.

To truly create a founder-inspired culture, you need to communicate your vision to your team.

And that is not possible once only at a large town hall meeting. Developing a vision for your company should be something you do every day and communicate regularly with your team.

We'll be talking more about how to do this in the coming weeks. Do you have a question about how to bring culture to your team? Leave a comment below and we will cover it in our next post.

And don't forget to subscribe so you'll be the first to know when we talk about it!

EarlierEarlier5 ways a strong culture can have a positive impact on your business

NextThis is how you rediscover your corporate cultureNext

Laura clicks

Laura Click is a brand strategist, speaker, podcaster and founder of Blue Kite. Find out more about Laura and her work at Blue Kite.

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