MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Take a Skills-Based Approach to Culture Change

Companies worldwide are launching interventions to create innovative organizational cultures that support effective responses to shifts in their business environments. But many well-intentioned programs aimed at cultural change fail to affect employees in a meaningful way, leaving organizations unfit for transformation despite having invested hundreds or even thousands of employee hours.

Unlike most types of culture initiatives, a skills-based approach can more effectively infuse new culture components into scale-ups and international incumbents alike. This approach is particularly effective for developing what many refer to as soft skills, such as perspective taking. This ability to step outside one’s own perspective to understand another person’s point of view, motivations, and emotions helps build a psychologically safe environment in which people dare to share ideas and unfiltered information.

About the Author

Per Hugander is a strategic adviser on leadership, strategy, innovation, and organizational culture. He is an adjunct professor of practice at Hult International Business School and an agenda contributor to the World Economic Forum.

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