Let’s Talk Story

Take for instance the billions of people living across all seven continents of the world. From the biological makeup to the personalities that people develop, each person is unique in his or her own way. The same concept can be applied to the various organizations across all industries. Each organization develops a unique corporate culture. Clampitt (2017) notes that corporate culture is defined as “the underlying belief and value structure of an organization, collectively shared by the employees and symbolically expressed in a variety of overt and subtle ways” (p. 116). In other words, each organization has its unique fill of rituals, core values, and mission statements. Corporate culture is simply how things are done in an organization. Employees influence corporate culture, but in turn, employees are also influenced by the corporate culture themselves.

 

Stated vs. Actual Culture

First, let’s discuss the difference between an organization’s stated culture and actual culture. An organization’s stated culture is what an organization desires to be, while the actual culture is how an organization really behaves (Clampitt, 2017). Now, the smaller the gap between the stated and the actual culture, the more effective the organization will be in terms of the bottom line. The real question presumes to be how organizations can minimize this gap. The short answer is to build an effective corporate culture that actively adapts to changes and reinforces core values. However, how can an organization build an effective culture? Briody, Meerwarth Pester, and Trotter (2012) conducted research into current and future impacts of stories on organizational culture change. It was found that workplace stories become “part of the cultural fabric of the organization” and provide a framework for the future (Briody et al., 2012). Workplace stories can help establish an effective corporate culture by exemplifying the organization’s mission and core values. Let’s explore a story within my workplace that exemplifies its core values.

 

A Workplace Story

AdventHealth has a rich history founded in 1973 by a team of Seventh-day Adventist medical pioneers (“Mission,” n.d.). These pioneers believed in whole-person care that treated not only the body, but also healed the mind and spirit. Everything that goes on within AdventHealth is a part of its faith-based mission of “Extending the healing ministry of Christ.”  The values that form AdventHealth’s stated culture are quality and service excellence, high ethical standards, community well-being, stewardship, and inclusiveness (“Mission,” n.d.). These are all values that AdventHealth desires to represent, and it goes to great lengths to close the gap between the stated and actual culture.

 

One of the most memorable stories in the workplace took place recently during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As numbers of COVID-19 cases peaked in Florida, so did the hospital’s occupancy of coronavirus cases. Many people became bed-ridden and many, put on ventilators. The wave of coronavirus cases reigned terror on the entire world. After many prayers and amazing care from staff members, there came a day that sparked hope and smiles amongst the entire hospital. Staff members lined up on both sides leading out of the main exit. Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” began to blare on the hospital speakers. Nearby, the elevator dinged and slowly opened. Out came a nurse wheeling a patient with a smile from ear to ear. This patient had just beaten the worst of COVID-19 and was returning home safely. Clapping and cheering continued, for what seemed like forever at the time. Although this event only lasted for a few minutes, the sense of accomplishment and elation lasted a while. This moment was a reminder of AdventHealth’s core values and what it strived for every single day.

 

Driving Culture Through Storytelling

At this moment, one might be confused of how such a story can exemplify corporate culture. Clampitt (2017) describes employees as “the creators, carriers, and consequences of culture” (p. 122). As mentioned earlier, employees not only influence the corporate culture, but are also affected by the culture themselves. Employees live and breathe the corporate culture, exuding behaviors that exemplify the very culture they sought to build. The story above is merely one of many that convey AdventHealth’s core values. The story drives the corporate culture of the organization because it creates a transparent image of how AdventHealth truly behaves. Instead of simply stating the culture, one can provide of real-world application of the organization’s inner workings. Storytelling drives the credibility and accuracy of the corporate culture in an organization, thereby closing the gap between the stated and actual culture.

 

References

Briody, E., Meerwarth Pester, T., & Trotter, R. (2012). A story's impact on organizational-culture change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25(1), 67-87. doi:10.1108/09534811211199600

 

Clampitt, P. G. (2017). Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

 

Mission and History (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.adventhealth.com/mission-and-history