The culture of an organization — the way it works and what I people believe about it — has a major effect on performance and overall results. Identify the dominant culture of your organization, using the Handy-based questionnaires set out in this masterclass. Then seek to balance the cultural mix to obtain maximum effectiveness from everyone.
Understanding the cultures
Handy identified four cultural patterns, each characterized by a different Greek god. Most organizations are dominated by one of the three cultural patterns below. The fourth culture, ruled by Dionysus, is that of the individual, and its followers are not interested in organization or in organized cultures.
The Three Types of Organizational Culture
1 Power
ruled by Zeus
2 Role
ruled by Apollo
3 Task
ruled by Athena
Each Handy culture has its particular strengths. The personal power of Zeus-dominance can work wonderfully well even in large companies — given the right father figure. But larger companies also require the order and control that Apollo's role culture embodies, with its emphasis on systems, routines, and predictability. In today's fast-moving environment both Zeus and Apollo find the Athenian task-orientated approach increasingly essential.
Finding the right balance
Achieving the right balance between Handy's gods involves countering the excesses that all three cultures can easily develop — respectively, autocracy, bureaucracy, and disintegration. A successful mix will also embrace individualistic Dionysus.
The combination of all four gods satisfies Handy's definition of good management. For this you must use Zeus to provide purpose and direction, Apollo to look after the steady-state needs, Athena to keep the organization moving forward, and Dionysus to supply the vital spark of creativity.
