Get these 5 things right to improve your culture

GRASS is my shorthand way of remembering what matters most when it comes to leading and shifting Culture: Gatherings, Rituals, Actions, Symbols and Stories.

G.R.A.S.S: Gatherings, Rituals, Actions, Symbols and Stories. 

Grass gives us some useful metaphors for culture.

• Grass needs care and maintenance; it’s not a one-and-done intervention.
• Grass can be wild or a well-trimmed lawn. Both are beautiful when they are healthy.
•  Weeds can grow even in the best quality grass.
• There are plenty of varieties of grass. It can grow from seed or be imported as turf, or you can work with what you have.
• The grass looks greener on the other side, but it’s greenest where you water it.
• A complex root system connects individual blades.
• You can develop a level of grass expertise, but there’s nothing like the experience of looking after your own.
• There are grass experts and plenty of resources about grass, yet what matters most is how we treat our grass every day.

GRASS was born out of my frustration with culture models that were either too stuffy or too fluffy for leaders who just wanted to know what to DO. I like making things simple and actionable.

“I love the GRASS framework, which provides a way to force oneself into considering the total cultural landscape.” - Andrew Matuszczak

I go into GRASS deeply in my book, Shift.

These are five areas where you can take daily action to shift your culture. With experiments and questions to challenge your thinking, GRASS is a method you can use to improve your culture, everyday.

What small shift could you make today to grow your GRASS?

Try these Experiments

Conduct a personal symbols audit. From your coffee mug to what you wear into the office, consider what those around you 'see'. Your team are looking to see what you say and do, sure, but something you might be less conscious of is your focus - what are you paying attention to?

What messages are you inadvertently sending?

Review your Rituals. Ask yourself:

1. Which rituals have become meaningless in your team?
2. What daily rituals could you redesign to increase their meaning?
3. What rituals matter most to my team? to me?