BTC Case: Learning and Teamwork

Kanna Krishnan is a "positive agent" and holds a senior position in Human Resources. He is tasked with developing a progressive culture for BTC. That’s why he used the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and followed the Positive Culture Academy, as explained in part 1 of this case story.

BTC dreamed and defined their preferred positive culture and ways to stimulate Positive Awareness, Connection and Collaboration, Learning and Autonomy, and Shared Purpose and Meaning. That sounds wonderful, but how could they do it?

Options to work with culture

Kanna Krishnan continues: "I explored several options after joining the Positive Culture Academy. We could deploy another OCAI culture survey and check our current workplace against the Positive Culture Checklist. We could organize training about the Academy’s Positive Manifesto and how to become a positive agent. This would be voluntary, for those who are interested.

I consider organizing a Senior Leaders Training on Positive Leadership. It would be crucial for them to learn “How to Be Positive” and “How to see People as People” as taught in the Academy. This would be mandatory, as senior leaders must upgrade their attitude and leadership style to make this transition.

Another option is a BTC Culture Day to share the findings of the OCAI culture survey, the Positive Culture Checklist and to work on public commitment to change key values and behaviors. Last but not least, we could start Change Circles of 10 to foster dialogue and solve obstacles while developing a positive work culture at BTC."

The Change Circle

"We started with one voluntary Change Circle because it helps people to bond with co-workers and obtain personal support. It also stimulates ownership and allows people to commit to key behaviors.

The BTC Change Circle convenes for 2 hours on Friday, twice a month. Participation is open to anyone who is interested in making a positive change in the organization. The attendees are mostly middle-level supervisors from various departments.

We elect a different chairman for each meeting and re-instate the rules of engagement that we agreed on in the first meeting to keep the space "safe" for everyone to contribute. So far, we have looked at our OCAI culture profile to understand our current culture and our typical behaviors. We explore behaviors for the preferred Create culture type; how could we enhance learning and autonomy while still working together and towards our shared goals? As a result, I see a more open discussion about issues in meetings, compared to the silence and ask-an-answer attitude we had before. That is progress."

More teamwork, and Positive Tea!

"We also invited people from another department to join our monthly department meeting. It was a great experience as they shared their insights. We came up with new ideas that we implement in our respective departments. For instance, we now have an idea box for suggestions, and one of the executed ideas is a reward for interdepartmental team efforts.

We organized a Positive Tea Meeting to share more about what positivity means on a monthly basis. It’s inspiring. A senior leader and an HR professional always attend, and people have shared, for instance, how they improve their work, but also how teams enhance their cohesiveness.

Personally, I am still working on adopting the Positive Organic Mindset. I realize during our bi-weekly meetings that it’s crucial to focus on people’s potential and what is already working well. I’m still learning."

• What is your organization doing to develop a (more) positive culture?

Thank you for sharing your story, Kanna!

Do you want to learn more about developing a positive culture? Join this Positive Culture Academy. Go to the enroll page and start the change! The curriculum can be done self-paced and with others, as you wish. Help your team or organization develop its positive potential.