As a project recovery consultant, when I go into a new corporate culture, it is like a city dweller being dropped into the middle of the wilderness, or someone from Arizona walking into a NWT winter storm. The same rules that will keep you alive in a survival situation apply: be prepared, evaluate the situation, use your senses, adapt and improvise, and by all means, stay hydrated. Coffee, tea, whatever it takes. The difference is that my goal is not survival, but rather to ensure that I respect and work within the existing corporate culture in order to do my job and provide value to the corporation.

Let’s take a look at two very different cultures that I often see:

1. Highly Competitive Culture

Some organizations are characterized by:

• A highly competitive atmosphere
• Individual, team, or department competitions for resources and/or accolades. (i.e., who is going to hit their target first)
• Little collaboration or resource-sharing. This could be on a team-by-team level or even down to individuals
• A siloed structure. Your accomplishments are yours, not the organizations. The failures of others are theirs only. There is little sense of enterprise-wide help being available

2. Highly Cooperative Culture

In this type of organization, you will see that:

• Everything is done democratically
• Decision-making is done by groups
• Everyone strives to be aligned with the corporate mission and each other
• There is more exchange of information, knowledge, skills, and resources
• A team is judged based on its work as a unit, not as individuals

The last thing I want to do is imply one of these is “bad” and the other “good.” In fact, each style can be remarkably successful, and each has its drawbacks. In the highly cooperative atmosphere, for instance, decision-making can drag on and on, which leads to missed opportunities. That wouldn’t happen in a highly competitive environment, but nor would a sharing of resources to accomplish an enterprise-wide goal. There are advantages and disadvantages for each.

As a consultant, one must adapt to how one is going to deal with these different cultures (and there are obviously more types, hybrids of each, etc., than we’ve looked at here). You must:

• Identify and work with your sponsor(s)
• Earn trust
• Actively listen to the word bing said but alos the intent /context of the communications that are used
• Not only listen to what is bing said but also carefully observe the actions  of all stakeholders ( listen to the words and watch the feet)
• Work towards what is best for the organization regardless of the culture – or regardless of your preferred style
• Look for common elements that are going to drive the business forward
• Work to achieve individual and enterprise goals
• Draw people out and work towards objectives

Companies like Manulife and JP Morgan Chase are highly competitive and siloed, yet they are also among the most successful business in the world. Organizations like SunLife and Zappos, on the other hand, are very democratic and team-oriented, and each of these has emerged as leaders as well. There is no one single “right” culture. As a consultant, you have to figure out the best way to work within that environment to get goals and objectives met.