Your Gambit

Change is inevitable whether an organization intends for it or not, it is a means for growth in a business. Every business has a lifecycle – introduction, growth, maturity and decline. To create long lasting and growing organizations, the internal culture (collective actions and behaviors) of it’s employees matter. Every organization needs it’s human capital (people) and people need a culture to survive. The only hurdle to the change that promotes growth is when an organization has a culture that is resistant to change.

As discussed earlier, the culture of the organization defines it’s strategic growth and its potential. Creating a strong organizational culture has become even more important in the 21st century.

An organization’s Culture is defined as a collective behavior of all the employees of an organization and it flows from the top management to it’s executives.

Why does culture matter?

1. A strong culture (set of collective actions and behaviors) in the right direction propels the company to the future.
2. A strong culture requires lesser rules. Lesser rules means more autonomy.
3. It attracts the right talent and
4. It increases the performance of all the individuals involved.

Creating an organization culture that is Adaptive in nature is imperative to prevent a business from falling into a predictable decline, it should be able to steer itself and ideally move towards sustainability and innovation.

What is an Adaptive Culture?

In simple words, to “be adaptive” means to “have flexibility”. This can be further derived in the form of values like openness, agility, continuous learning and resilience. Companies with adaptive culture are more likely to encourage their employees to innovate, experiment and challenge the status quo, this is similar to new age startups that start building their businesses from the ground up, they are more likely to be open to new ideas, fresh talent, faster processes and quicker decision making.

Why is adaptive culture crucial for change acceptance?

1. It reduces resistance to change.
2. Encourages proactive mindsets
3. Fosters Innovation and Agility
4. Strengthens employee morale and engagement
5. Improves organizational resilience

People resist change when they fear the unknown or if they feel their job is at risk or lack of trust in leadership. Adaptive cultures build their values on openness, trust and transparency in communication where proactiveness, higher employee engagement, innovation, agility and resilience thrive at work making the organizational environment a conducive place to work.

How to Build and Adaptive culture?

1. Encourage a growth mindset

The culture/collective behaviors of all the employees in an organization should be shaped in a way that encourages each individual to better than one’s self.

A reasonable statement to explain this would be: “You are encouraged to better than you were yesterday. Put your efforts in and push yourself out of your comfort zone, take ownership of your results, set bigger goals each day and take calculated risks”

2. Promote open communication

Employees who feel they cannot freely share their reasoning, ideas and opinions are less likely to engage in communicating with their peers, this reduces/restricts the free flow of ideas, growth and makes it tougher for better conflict resolutions which turns into stagnancy.

“We foster a culture of transparency, where every voice matters. Open communication is not just encouraged, it is essential. We believe in honest dialogue, active listening, and constructive feedback, creating a space where ideas thrive, challenges are addressed, and collaboration flourishes.“

3. Empower employees with autonomy

Autonomy can be defined as a state of self-governing. It is the capacity and authority to decide for one’s self on the right course of action. For example, we cannot expect our managers to be omnipresent throughout the day, the executives and associates should be given the acceptable range of autonomy to decide the solution to the problem. It is also better to leave the decision to the individual that’s closest to the problem knowing that they might have more information about the situation.

“We trust our employees to take ownership of their work, make informed decisions, and innovate within their roles. Our culture values autonomy, where individuals have the flexibility to approach tasks in a way that maximizes their strengths while staying aligned with our shared goals. Support is always available, but we empower our team to lead with confidence and accountability.”

Adaptable culture can be promoted by

1. Recognizing and reward adaptability
2. Leading by example

An adaptive culture is the cornerstone of embracing organizational change, fostering resilience, innovation, and a proactive mindset that enables employees to navigate transitions with confidence, reducing resistance and driving sustainable growth.