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Last updated: 17 June 2005
Creating a culture for success
No two organisations are the same
Every organisation is different. There are many reasons for the differences, including differing types of work the organisations undertake and the subject matter they deal with. Of course every person within an organisation is different too.
You would not expect a small scientific agency to be the same as a large social policy program delivery department, or a central coordinating agency. They have different mixes of people and different cultures. These differences can be barriers to achieving whole of government results. They can also be a source of strength in delivering results if the organisation’s culture supports collaboration.
How to create the right culture
Everyone has their part to play. Culture and capabilities can be ‘make or break’ factors in determining the effectiveness of whole of government endeavours. Culture is the set of beliefs, behaviours, knowledge and information shared by a group of people. Capabilities, which are the sets of skills that individuals need to carry out their work, underpin culture.
Agencies can set the scene by making sure their corporate structures support collaborative approaches to their work.
Senior executive service (SES) employees have particular responsibilities. The Public Service Act requires them ‘to promote cooperation with other agencies’.
The challenge is to support what might be called a ‘networking or horizontal culture’. This requires systematic attention to things such as:
- readiness to think and act across agency boundaries
- teamwork
- flexibility
- openness to innovation and creativity
- the ability to capitalise on windows of opportunity, tolerate mistakes and manage risk
- the capacity to build strategic alliances, collaboration and trust
- adaptability to changing circumstances
- persistence
- encouragement of the expression of diverse views, and awareness of different cultures and appreciation of their strengths
- a capacity to balance the tension between short-term and long-term goals
- effective knowledge management.
There can be tensions between managing vertically (within the hierarchy of a department’s structure) and horizontally (across agencies). Resolving these tensions requires explicit and consistent support from the top.
What can individuals do to prepare?
Individuals can experience different perspectives and work cultures through things like:
- interagency and cross-agency networking opportunities
- seminars
- mobility and temporary placements into other agencies or project teams
- learning and development.
