Org Chart vs. Pyramid

When we see an organizational chart, it flows from the top down. The CEO at the top. However, when a business, company, firm…. any organization is built, it’s built from the ground up, including its culture. It follows then - the founding person or people of the organization is where it all begins. It’s his Implicit Assumptions (Cameron & Quinn) – who’s ‘back’, aka the base, the company is built upon. Wow! That’s a lot of leadership responsibility. When leadership changes – so does the back.

Within an organization – each unit, team, section, etc., is greatly influenced by the larger organizational culture, but they all have their own nuances because of the leader(s) in that sub-system. People in the organization know whose team they want to be on, what area of the plant is the best to work in… because of the culture creator, the leader, in that sub-system. I created just that, a sub-culture in an overall organizational culture. Was it influenced by the overall culture? Yes, of course. What to align with and what to comply with and what to reframe was my decision though – my back.

Regarding the Implicit Assumptions - they are vast. It’s not about a desire to build an empire, or to make a decent living, or to sell a product. Implicit Assumptions are personal. It’s about the actual person(s) – beliefs, values, knowledge, behaviors, and interpersonal capabilities of the leader that creates the culture. It’s the person after all that is the leader. It’s true they have position power but it’s the personal power that creates the culture.