View Culture as an Advantage

Culture should be a contributor to progress, not a detractor. Take advantage of the unique aspects of your culture, celebrate its strengths, and turn them to your advantage. For example, employees may be reluctant to change an inefficient process because they are concerned about fraud, waste, or abuse. Celebrate the fact that employees care so much about their fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer and play to that strength. Communicate those advantages and strengths to key stakeholders, like the legislative branch, so they understand the rationale behind culture change efforts. There should be no surprises on the journey to turn culture to your advantage. Everyone involved should understand what tangible changes to expect with respect to programs, employees, and services, giving them more confidence in the organization they support and increasing their ability to explain it to residents.