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Culture is to a group what personality or character is to an individual. We
can see the behavior that results, but often we cannot see the forces
underneath that cause certain kinds of behavior. Edgar H. Schein in his
book Organizational Culture and Leadership.

On the pathway to changing an organization’s culture, it is certainly worth
it for leadership to make the effort to first understand the existing culture.
Clearly, leaders would find it difficult to communicate and implement new
visions and inspire follower commitment to those visions if they didn’t
have a deep understanding of the nature of the organization’s existing
culture and the impact of it. If they understand its culture, they can use it

in a number of positive ways, such as by:

• Developing organizational strategies that are more likely to be
implemented;

• Setting guidelines for how managers and staff should interact
with their constituents and customers;
• Making staffing decisions;
• Setting performance criteria;

• Guiding the nature of acceptable interpersonal relationships in
the organization; and,
• Selecting appropriate management styles.
124

Furthermore, the degree to which the organization’s culture is determined
or influenced by its leaders and managers is important to understanding

the culture itself. For example, if the behavior that is demonstrated by the
leader(s) (which includes the Board and the management) is not geared
toward achieving “excellence,” the staff will soon quit striving to produce
high quality services.

It is generally accepted that the leadership of an organization influences to
a great extent:

• how the organization is known to its customers, employees, and

others;
• what makes the people in the organization feel successful; and,

124 Judith R. Gordon, Organizational Behavior: A Diagnostic Approach, Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River
NJ, 1999, pp. 345-346.

David Kolzow 110