Cultural alignment to your organisation's values & objectives is critical to 21st Century success in association management. Most Association Executives don’t know where to start this conversation so we have 10 tips to help you kickstart your culture. Seven years of intentional work on Fitness Australia's culture yielded amazing personal and organisational results. In concert with Humanize author Jamie Notter Robert presented the case study at ASAE's 2013 annual meeting. So compelling is the case study that the most recent issue of Associations Now magazine carries Joe Rominiecki's feature and follow up articles on Robert’s work with Fitness Australia: http://associationsnow.com/2013/11/team-cool-fitness-australias-approach-to-active-values/ and http://associationsnow.com/2013/11/a-culture-that-starts-with-member-service/ Our 10 tips are key takeaways from the Fitness Australia journey & from the potent cultural platform described in the Humanize book (www.humanizebook.com).

1. 10 Tips to
Kick-starting Your
Association Culture
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

2. Ki ckstarti ng Your
Associ ati on C ul ture
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Cultural alignment to your
organisation's values & objectives is
critical to 21st Century success in
association management.
Most Association Executives don’t
know where to start this conversation
so we have 10 tips to help you kickstart your culture.
Seven years of intentional work on
Fitness Australia's culture yielded
amazing personal and organisational
results.
In concert with Humanize author Jamie
Notter Robert presented the case
study at ASAE's 2013 annual meeting.
#10in20
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So compelling is the case study that
the most recent issue of Associations
Now magazine carries Joe
Rominiecki's feature and follow up
articles on Robert’s work with Fitness
Australia:
Our 10 tips are key takeaways from the
Fitness Australia journey & from the
potent cultural platform described in
the Humanize book
(www.humanizebook.com).
If you missed the webinar here is a link
to the presentation, handout and
recording (mp4) – Associations 101:
Association Professional Development
10 Tips in 20 Minutes.
@robertmbarnes

3. Ti p # 1 :
T h e r e i s n o t r e a l l y 1 0 Ti p s .
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#10in20
Developing organisational culture is quite a journey
with many steps involved – many of them forward
and a few of them backwards.
It takes time even to get started in order to gain
some momentum which makes the activities feel
meaningful.
Never-the-less there are some key things you can
do today that will stand you in good stead as you
make progress in developing the culture that will
help your Association achieve its mission in a 21st
Century operating environment.
@robertmbarnes

4. Ti p # 2 :
It doesn’t matter what you do.
Just do something.
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There is no bad place to start!
Choose an internal process, policy or practice
within your Association that is something most of
your colleagues could either do without, dislike or
complain about regularly (think staff meeting).
Develop a “small safe test” and experiment with
doing it differently over a short period.
Wait and see what happens. Record any
discernable changes in behaviour among the team
as a result and spend time discussing the
experience.
This is the start of conversations about culture.
Case Study:
Fitness Australia started by introducing weekly one-onone meetings between managers and their direct
reports; and, daily, weekly, monthly team huddles.
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

5. Ti p # 3 :
Do a Cultural Assessment.
Basic Structure of the process:
1. Envision your ideal culture
2. Honestly assess where your culture currently is
3. Close the Gap
Look for an assessment that is:
• Backed by theory
• Balanced between descriptive and prescriptive
• Balanced between qualitative and quantitative data
• Leaves you in control of next actions, not the
consultant
• Fits with your vision of the ideal culture
Reference:
http://jamienotter.com/2013/12/finding-a-good-cultureassessment/
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

6. Ti p # 4 :
F o c u s Yo u r A t t e n t i o n o n C u l t u r e ,
P r o c e s s , B e h a v i o u r.
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Most association executives will
have you believe that esoteric
discussions about culture has no
place in the management of
modern associations.
You can focus the discussions on
a framework like the Humanize
Trellis (shown here) which helps
make the discussions more
tangible.
#10in20
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By focusing on culture, processes and
behaviour you can engage everyone
because not even a nay-sayer is going to
rail against wanting a more trustworthy
workplace.
Hone in on processes that require the most
attention and the behaviour that colleagues
display when they are in these situations or
working in that environment.
@robertmbarnes

7. Ti p # 5 :
K e e p Yo u r E y e s o n t h e P r i z e .
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#10in20
Make the work of cultural change a key component
of your daily, weekly and monthly tasks.
The prize is aligning your entire team’s behaviour,
motivations and efforts to the Association’s mission,
vision and values.
Enabling your colleagues to do meaningful work
creates levels of employee engagement that
enhances their personal attributes helping them
gain a clearer picture of their place in the world.
An organisation’s strategy can only be successful of
the organisation’s culture is aligned.
@robertmbarnes

8. Ti p # 6 :
Wa i t , Wa t c h . L i s t e n & L e a r n .
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Conversations about culture lead to discussions
about behaviour.
Behaviour can be observed / experienced in many
ways and with different effects on individuals within
the workplace.
It is important to find out (at a weekly 1:1 meeting or
team huddle) how your colleagues feel when they
experience good and bad behaviour.
These are the critical clues you need to create
meaningful dialogue about what you want you
culture to look like, feel like and sound like.
Case Study:
Fitness Australia began asking questions about what
employees considered “TeamCool-worthy / UnTeamCool-worthy” behaviour.
#TeamCool became the tangible language that
described how employees wanted the culture to look and
feel.
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

9. Ti p # 7 :
Communicate. Communicate.
Communicate.
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The very clever Shelly Alcorn once said – “Change
the Language, Change the World”.
Insert cultural discussion points into all your
meetings internally and particularly into one on one
meetings with your direct reports.
Insert cultural alignment into team huddles at
weekly, monthly and quarterly intervals.
Discuss the importance of cultural alignment with
your suppliers, volunteers, partners and vendors to
they begin to understand how you all need to work
together to achieve success.
Share media on cultural change regularly so your
colleagues are aware this is not your personal
crusade but a mission to be a 21C success.
References:
Read Tony Hsieh, Simon Sinek ; and, Jamie Notter and
Maddie Grant.
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

10. Ti p # 8 :
Prepare for the Pushback.
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If you are a High D in the DiSC profiling this is a
tough gig. I just wanted everyone to get it and help
me move forward!
Many colleagues will need time to process the new
language, the new conversations and the focus on
their behaviour. This is useful in the long run so
take advantage of the consideration by others.
However, a small vocal few will nit pick at every
step not because it is not a good strategy but
simply because they can. It is this behaviour that is
a cure to you about who will be culturally aligned
and who will not.
Making time to listen to all is the most important
feature of this tip and the One on One Meetings
weekly are a great way to commit to this time.
Case Study:
Fitness Australia uses DiSC in all hiring, collaborating
and performance management systems.
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

11. Ti p # 9 :
P r a c t i c e t h e C u l t u r e Yo u
Envision.
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Kick-start a new way to work in your Association
embracing the more human elements of the culture
that you can practice yourself.
The 21C Association leader must manage their
people differently in order to take advantage of the
individual attributes in a way that leverages what
technological, financial and strategic resources the
Association also has at its disposal.
The cultural imperatives include: decentralisation;
transparency; systems thinking; ownership &
experimentation. (Source: Jamie Notter – Organisational Culture in
the 21st Century)
Tool Tip:
Subscribe to Manager Tools podcasts and learn about
the Management Trinity:
1. One on One Meetings
2. Feedback
3. Coaching
(and their silent partner – Delegation)
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

12. Ti p # 1 0 :
P r a c t i c e t h e C u l t u r e Yo u
Envision.
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#10in20
Culture needs champions.
Champions in all fields work hard to stay at the top
of their game and some of these tips to get started
will become the foundation of this cultural journey.
Share the love! Ownership among many is what
makes cultural alignment of an entire team so
meaningful and the results will show.
There will be ROI right across the board if you just
get started.
@robertmbarnes

13. Q&A:
A n s w e r i n g Yo u r Q u e s t i o n s .
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Does the name of initiative matter a lot? Was there any
pushback from the name #TeamCool?
There was no pushback as the term was actually made
up by the team. Once we branded the culture this way it
was fun for everyone. When we defined what #TeamCool
meant it became meaningful to everyone.
Do you have any advice for a lower level staff member who
sees need for change but lacks influence at this time?
Find the decision-maker who is most approachable and
ask heaps of “Have you ever thought about…” questions
in informal settings or casual conversations. Over time
they will ask questions back of you and this is your
opportunity to have them think about your ideas and
take them on as their own.
At what point do toys in the office go over the top? At what
point is it diminishing returns because it is not cheap to create
a dynamic environment?
A.
#10in20
@robertmbarnes

14. Q&A:
A n s w e r i n g Yo u r Q u e s t i o n s .
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#10in20
With Fitness Australia taking almost 40% of your available
time, how did you structure your workload to achieve your
goal?
A weekly schedule where all my 1:1 meetings; daily,
weekly and monthly huddles were locked in. Daily
„Read/Review‟ time kicked off each day so I always had
time to read and share information. 30mins in the
morning and 30mins in the afternoon for email & SM.
Then I knew how much time I had left each week for
project related work (& #TeamCool fun).
How does culture affect a major project such as the
implementation of a new software system?
The answer lies in thinking about how much culture is a
major contributor to the failure of major IT projects
owing to the behaviour of association staff involved.
Success in an IT project requires transparency, systems
thinking and not the least a bit of courage to experiment
along the way. If these are valued alongside a culture
that embraces ownership (not blame) and learning (not
obfuscation) then major IT projects will have a far better
chance for success.
@robertmbarnes

15. Robert Barnes BA GradDip MBA
r o b e r t . b a r n e s @ a p t i f y. c o m
robertmbarnes.com
F o l l o w m e o n Tw i t t e r @ r o b e r t m b a r n e s