The Culture Builders: Leadership Strategies for Employee Performance

Citation

Latemore, G.M. (2013), "The Culture Builders: Leadership Strategies for Employee Performance", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 488-489. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-03-2013-0031

The author of this work has worked with Sony Europe and has her own consulting business www.TheCultureBuilders.com and www.jane‐sparrow.com which state that “Jane is an active member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the past Programme Chair for the IABC Global Conference in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Jane is a co‐author of the IABC Handbook of Organisational Communication and was responsible for marketing the New York Times best‐seller The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working”.

The subtitle is a little misleading given the content. The subtitle states: “Leadership Strategies for Employee Performance”. The author seems to equate management with leadership, or assume that leaders are those who are higher in a hierarchy than managers. A more appropriate (if longer) subtitle would have been “Five Roles for the Manager as Culture Builder – Prophet, Storyteller, Strategist, Coach and Pilot”. The book is clearly a published version of their consulting tool. Perhaps, to be even more accurate, the subtitle could have read – “Reflections on Sony and Our Other European Clients”.

The audience for this book is practitioners and teachers looking for useful models on culture.

The Culture Builders presents 23 chapters in four parts:

Part 1: the organisational engagement strategy; this first part includes chapters on commitment, attachment, significance and measurement.

Part 2: manager as culture builder; this part highlights the five roles for the manager as a culture‐builder: prophet, storyteller, strategist, coach and pilot.

Part 3: leader as culture builder: this part explores these five roles for a more senior leader.

Part 4: engagement in action; this final part elaborates on some 20 case studies employed throughout the book, and mentions what the managers did to build culture in these organisations.

Each chapter summarises “What to Watch For” and “Leader Top Tips”. There are various models throughout, such as the four‐stage model of engagement (understanding, commitment, attachment, significance); the four lenses of manager engagement (I, you, us, all); and the PLAN tool for story telling (point of the story, likely impact, action and timeline, names of the characters and how they feel).

The heart of The Culture Builders is a detailed explanation of the model of “culture building”. The book addresses five roles for the manager – the prophet, the storyteller, the strategist, the coach and the pilot (each with a suitable icon). Apart from Sony, other organisations are offered as examples – such as BBC, Burger King, Covia, Diageo, IBM, John Lewis Partnership, Marks & Spencer, Pfizer and UKTV.

I especially liked Sparrow's chapter on the culture‐builder as storyteller. She reminds us that a good story must have significance and relevance, and then she illustrates this with the famous fable:

Three stonemasons were asked: “What do you do?” The first said, “I make bricks”. The second said, “I’m making this wall”. The third said, “I build cathedrals”.

The author rightly highlights that a good story is a powerful tool to enhance engagement levels. She distinguishes a number of starting points to help provide context and clarity in telling a story – structure, metaphor, images, comedy, music, theatre and empathy. Considering desirable audience outcomes helps when deciding how to craft a story – such as whether the storyteller wants to instruct, inform, involve, inspire or innovate (the “5I” model).

The book would have been enhanced by the provision of a version – albeit abbreviated – of the diagnostic tool the author employs to assess the five culture‐building roles, perhaps as an appendix. Clearly, you can only access this instrument if you engage her consulting company.

The book is very attractively presented with many tables, figures and examples. This is its clear strength – it is visually appealing. It would be useful for practical applications of the topic, real‐life examples and basic ideas about culture. The book would also have been improved with a clear statement of the author's credentials. Sparrow is only mentioned as being a previous “Director of Communication and Change for Sony Europe”. Even on her web site, her “Cranfield‐based qualifications in individual and team cultural positioning” are unidentified. Sparrow undoubtedly possesses substantial consulting experience, but why the reticence to mention her formal qualifications?

Further, the content could have been even further improved by citing and comparing the viewpoints of respected researchers on organisational culture. Most of the references are from consultants, or popular books or models on engagement (such as Gallup Q12). The book is clearly a vehicle to support their consulting work and that is understandable (e.g. p. 195 asserts more practical tools for advice and implementation; available at www.TheCultureBuilders.com).

If you need an attractive primer on culture for consulting work in Europe or teaching under‐graduate students about the concept, this would be a colourful companion.

About the author

Greg M. Latemore is an Industry Fellow at UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, & Director, Latemore Consulting, Brisbane, Australia. Greg M. Latemore can be contacted at: greg@latemoreconsulting.com.au