Balancing performance and culture

Are performance and success more relevant than culture?

by José Leal e Silva, Executive director, Bee Engineering for Human Resources

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In the days we live in,where competition and the market are increasingly accelerating, the success oforganizations and the individual performance of each of their members is acrucial issue. The same can lead a company to become a unicorn or end up insolvent.

So how can we maintain highperformance towards success without sacrificing corporate culture?

The current market,especially in the area of ​​Information Systems, changes suddenly and isconstantly unstable, both in terms of the knowledge needed at each moment andin terms of the volume of demand. Although the latter has generally beengrowing in recent years, like other markets, it also goes through periods ofadjustment.

However, the type ofknowledge and way of acting in the area of ​​Software Engineering projects andassociated areas changes at an accelerated pace, much faster than it ispossible for companies to change.

In this reality of constantchange, how can we build a strong business culture, when the creation of thiselement fundamentally requires structure and time?

The four most common typesof business culture are defined in management literature (Clan, Hierarchy,Market, Adhocracy/Innovation), and the transition between them, in the sameorganization, occurs over the years, either due to the nature of the organizationor by the market. But above all, it occurs due to time and the evolution of thecompany.

In this environment, it isurgent to provide organizations with the ability to have a solid structure ofprocesses and values ​​that allow stability in the face of changes around them,but at the same time, be able to adapt in order to continue responding to whatis requested by the market. .

This need foradaptability requires effort, energy and dedication, not only from companyleaders, but from their internal teams. It will not be possible to have aflexible company/organization if it is made up only of employees who are averseto any changes to their daily lives.

It is therefore essentialto analyze the existing team, understand the position of the people who likeand adhere to the structure, process and fixed agenda. Then, make the rightdecisions to have these elements in key positions in the organization that arevery unlikely to change, namely some internal administrative areas orprocedural support for the organization's business.

Next, be aware that lessorganized elements will be needed, and that some internal processes willcertainly fail, but that enable changes in direction and action at the pacethat the leader and the market require.

With this combination andbalance between structure and adaptability, the organization can then aim tofocus on maximum performance, knowing that, while performance increases,whenever necessary, the team will be able to accommodate changes in process, method,systems , and other types, remaining firmly supported by its base andstructural values.

The challenge ofbalancing performance with structure, without sacrificing principles andvalues, is an ongoing task, the responsibility of leaders, but with the globalparticipation of all elements of the organization.

Is your organization,today, at a point where it is possible to act in this way?