Chapter 10: The Double Diamond of Culture
In short, what’s needed to enable startups to build their culture is setting up a habit of a reflective and experimental practice based on conversation, self-exploration and empathy where the outcome is explicit behaviors that aims to reach the organization’s goals, as well as developing and supporting the team throughout the process. Developing the Double Diamond, a design process tool with a foundation in human centeredness and testing, to incorporate the three levels of culture suggested by Schein (2010) and Wheelan’s Integrated Model of Group Development, it could be used as a tool to enable startups to build their culture in a human-centered way. Below is an overview of the framework and in the following text I’ll dive deeper into the different parts as well as present feedback from the industry.
Before we begin dissecting the framework I’d like to emphasize that the suggested exercises are just an example of how this framework could be used. As mentioned in the past chapter, every intervention needs to be designed with the current organization in mind. The focus for this project is therefore on the outcomes for each part of the process instead of a comprehensive list of tools, processes and exercises that could be used.
Part 1: Discover and Dependency & inclusion
The purpose of the first phase of the Double Diamond of Culture it’s to open up to the process and discover what is already happening within the organization, both on an organizational and individual level. As Allison mentioned, organizations are just groups of people, so it’s crucial to foster an understanding of the individuals that make up the group. According to Wheelan (2014) members are concerned about safety and belonging, which suggests that skills in active listening, communication and empathy would be beneficial to make everyone feel included. Wheelan also mentions that members are dependent on a leader and powerful members to provide direction since there is no structure. In this case it would also be beneficial to provide more facilitation in this part of the process which promotes collaboration and aims for providing a space where everyone gets a say.
Starting in the ‘what we’re doing’, on an artifactual level, we can start uncovering the shared behavior throughout the organization and enable a greater understanding for why we do what we do. This uncovering, with the right tools and process, leads to exploring the assumptions of the organization so we can start defining and re-defining them.
Outcomes and example of exercises
Make purpose, values, needs and beliefs of the individuals in the organization explicit
Foster empathy and active listening
Learn feedback tools
Cultivate a growth mindset
Start to build a habit of reflection
Explore assumptions
Derived from insights 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 22, and 24.
Part 2: Define and Counter-dependency & fight
After exploring and opening up the conversation it’s time to start defining what the organization stand for in terms of shared goals, purpose, values, mission and vision. As Sarah mentions there needs to be an overlap between your own values etc. and the organization’s. The organization’s purpose etc. will feed into defining the organizational behavior, part of the artifacts, where consideration is taken to what the individuals need from each other and to propel the organization forward. At this stage there is cause for conflict when definitions need to be made and people disagree about the common goals and practice for the group (Wheelan, 2014). Conflict management is therefore a needed part here.
From my experience at Hyper Island, getting through conflict is crucial to get to productive and enjoyable work. The conflicts also tend to arise when something has to be defined. In an organization this part of the framework is a vital point, since if the members can’t agree on the shared assumptions and behaviors that leads to shared artifacts we can argue whether or not the organization has a culture at all.
Outcomes and example of exercises
Needs turned into objectives for organizational behavior
Setting goals, purpose, mission and vision for the organization
Learn how to manage conflict
A shared set of beliefs, values and assumptions
Derived from insights 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 18.
Part 3: Develop and Trust & structure
When the organization has defined their shared assumptions, values etc. it’s time to open it up again and explore what could enable these to actively build their culture. As Sam mentioned, every good organization runs some kind of experiment on itself. Here the organizational members ideate on behaviors, tools, processes that they’d like to test out. They also make sure that they can measure their progress and design how to get feedback, something that gets done throughout the process. By experimenting within the organization it can foster the growth mindset through being in constant development (Dweck, 2007). Asking for feedback with an empathic approach and reflecting on it could develop the relationships within an organization. It’s also a sign of self awareness (Walumbwa et al.,2008). This part is important at the third stage of group development according to Wheelan (2010), along with communicating openly and collaborating with each other. Setting up an experiment allows for the organization to be in beta and fosters the sense of developing as you go.
By enabling the members of the organization in experimenting with their own behaviors and making them constantly prototype solutions the organization can prime itself for constant change, something that’s needed in today’s market to innovate and/or disrupt in order to survive. Building a structure based on iteration and learning also enables it to be institutionalized and a part of the organization’s identity.
Outcomes and example of exercises
Experiments to test behaviors and tools that are based on shared purpose, assumptions, beliefs, values and goals
Iterative process through feedback during the experiments
Strengthen relationships between individuals
Derived from insights 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24.
Part 4: Deliver and Work & productivity
When the experiments are done (for the time being) it’s time to draw out learnings from them. This should be done in a collaborative setting where everyone is involved and can build on each other. As Allison mentions, sharing your learnings can be crucial for your organization to adapt to a new environment and adopt new ways of doing things. By drawing out these learnings you’re able to expose the hidden assumptions behind them and start building a shared belief, that in turn leads to artifacts that are spread across the organization. By testing it out first you resolve issues with implementing new approaches, which Wheelan (2014) writes is a sign of reaching the last stage of group development. This also leads to being more productive and effective.
I suggest using as many tangible and visual tools/processes as needed in this part of the framework to make the learnings even more explicit, as well as serve as artifact-building that can be measured and serve as a reminder for the members of the organization when the tested behaviors has been verified and approved to be part of the culture.
Outcomes and example of exercises
Drawing out learnings
Reflection
Feedback
Derived from insights 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 20, 22, and 23.
Continuing the habit
Maintaining a high performing team and culture requires feedback loops, as Baker et al. (2013) mentions. Deborah also says that the most rewarding thing for the entrepreneurs at the BF+DA has been the quarterly strategic reflective meetings. Therefore time needs to be set aside to reflect on, fine-tune and perhaps challenge the culture and the artifacts, adopted norms and assumptions that have been developed. There needs to be a good cadence to these types of meetings that keep the culture flowing and discontinuous through conversation. Based on what both Deborah and Allison mention a quarterly update and run-through of this process is suggested.
Derived from insights 2, 6, 21, and 23.
Reflecting
During the process of using the framework practicing reflection is highly recommended. It can be daily or weekly, depending on how the framework is being used (during a sprint in a week or over a period of time, for example). The tools Team reflection and Individual reflection are recommended to use and to continue to draw learnings from the process as it’s on-going.
Derived from insights 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.
What does fun mean to your organization and its members?
Fun is an important part of working, especially for Generation X, and it facilitates a helpful and supportive environment. It’s therefore of importance that the organization define what fun means to them, as it can be very personal to each member of the organization. It’s recommended this is done either before starting to work with this framework, or during the first phase (Discover and Dependency & Inclusion), as well as continuing to update what fun means as new members join the organization.
Derived from insights 16 and 17.
Visual facilitation
Having something visual as an artifact of the culture and to keep track of the process is important. In this case it might be helpful to use Sibbet’s (2008) Group Graphics Keyboard as a guide for different visual entities that could be used within the framework and the different exercises.
Feedback from the industry
Due to it taking longer to transcribe and analyze the data from the interviews and designing the framework, along with not considering the time of year (middle of summer = most people are on holiday) and traveling, I have received very limited feedback on the framework and have not been able to test it either. In the future I will draw on the learnings from this project and plan my time better so I’ll have more time to receive feedback, as well as testing it.
Next: Chapter 11: Conclusion
Previous: Chapter 9: Overall discussion
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Hyper Island — MA Digital Media Management
Industry Research Project
