Topic 3 Module 4: Building a Positive Organisational Culture

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In Module 4, you will find information and resources on the following aspects of a positive organisational culture:

  • Positive organisational culture and psychology

  • Putting it into practice

This Module aims to:

  • Help you build more positive organisational culture.

  • Increase awareness of the dangers of a culture of inequality and poor culture.

  • Becoming familiar with positive psychology ideas and principles.

  • Develop your understanding of self-esteem, communication, leadership, coaching and mentoring, building alliances and persuasion.

  • Positive psychology tools help people thrive by fostering self-esteem, improved relationships, and a better outlook on life. These all help create an environment in which gender equality can thrive.

  • Positive psychology is the study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. It is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

  • It is the scientific study of the “good life”, or the positive aspects of the human experience that make life worth living. Psychologist Martin Seligman referred to “the good life” as “using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification”. 

A positive organisational culture is vital in promoting gender equality and a sense of fairness.  It provides numerous benefits to the organisation, this includes:

  • Better recruitment: A positive culture is one of the best ways to attract potential employees. A positive culture gives an organisation a competitive advantage. People want to work for companies with a good reputation from previous and current employees. An organisation with a positive culture will attract the type of talent that is willing to make their next workplace a home, rather than just a stepping-stone.

  • Employee loyalty: A positive culture will help retain top talent. A positive culture fosters a sense of employee loyalty. Employees are much more likely to stay with their current employer when they feel they are treated right. They are more likely to enjoy going to work every working day.

More information can be found in Module 4.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

 What is coaching and mentoring?

  • Coaching helps to shape performance and increase the likelihood of results meeting expectations. It encourages engagement and getting to know people as individuals, it helps to make people feel valued. It can also help to retain talent and save costs.

  • Mentoring is a relationship between two people with the goal of professional and personal development. The “mentor” is usually an experienced individual who shares knowledge, experience, and advice with a less experienced person, or “mentee”. Mentoring programmes in the workplace have been proven to reduce high turnover rates, tackle diversity problems and improve employee engagement. 

The purpose of coaching is to guide and support oneself or another to:

  • Clarify a current, important priority that you want to work on.

  • Identify relevant and realistic actions to address that priority.

  • Take the actions in your work or personal life.

  • Learn by reflecting on the coaching and the actions identified.

Coaching can be done in one conversation or as part of an overall coaching programme. 

Click here to watch the video and reflect on the key differences between a good and bad coaching conversation  

Reflect on your own experiences in the light of this example.

An alliance is a group of individuals brought together to accomplish a specific goal or purpose which will benefit all members of the group in some way. Focus on how you’ll work together to encourage collaborative behaviour.  Consider how collaborative behaviour affects gender equality and vice versa.

Advantages:

  • Increases resources

  • Results in more creative solutions

  • Allows more risk taking

  • Spreads out the workload

  • Raises community awareness

Tips for building alliances:

  • Effective communication forms the foundation for a positive work alliance

  • Treat your allies as equals

  • Spend time with your allies

  • Choose your battles wisely

  • Keep your promises

  • Resolve any conflicts or disputes at your earliest opportunity

  • Be an ally

  • Finally, never back-stab or blind-side an ally

Reflect back: Have you ever been involved in an alliance? What was your experience?

Source: Photo by RF._.studio from Pexels

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